It was a jubilant Trail Blazers squad that ended the 2007-08 season at 41-41 with a 100-91 loss at Phoenix Wednesday.

Though the second half of the season looked decidedly different from the first, coach Nate McMillan had seen enough to declare the season an unqualified success.

"This is the reason I came, to be a part of this," the Blazers coach said. "It was another step forward not to have a losing season. We started building this team, we have all the pieces and the next step is the playoffs."

Portland took a blow before the season even began, when No. 1 pick Greg Oden was lost to microfracture knee surgery. The Blazers, the youngest team in the league with an average age of 24 years and 22 days on opening day, started off slow, losing their first nine road ...More