The Blazers, the physically closest thing Seattle has to an NBA team, is marching toward the playoffs for the first time since 2002-03. And just getting there won't be enough for this team.

Portland is back. One of the youngest, deepest, most threatening teams in the West, the Trail Blazers have the stuff to go deep into the playoffs.

So, while the NBA continues to reel, Portland rocks.

The league's image continues to take hits from the "Starbury" soap opera in New York; to the saga of Allen Iverson, who decided he didn't want to work on Thanksgiving in the deeply depressed city of Detroit; to the long, tedious speculation about the future of LeBron James in Cleveland; to the total collapse of a certain screwed up franchise in Oklahoma City.

But in Portland the game is healthy again, mentally as well as physically. And the team plays Basketball the way it was meant to be played. Players share the ball and share the minutes.

Blazers coach Nate McMillan, who left Seattle to come here before the 2005 season points to two drafts that garnered LaMarcus Aldridge, Brandon Roy, Rudy Fernandez and Greg Oden.

"The players we drafted are starting to develop and get better," said McMillan. "And now we're starting to see the potential of those guys. "We've been able to stick to what we said we were going to do when we got here. We were going to change everything about this team and we've been able to do that."

The Rose Garden is loud and involved again. The fans are into it, the way they were in the late 1970s and again in the mid-1980s.

The era of pouting and pot smoking is done. The era of Rasheed Wallace and Isaiah Rider, Damon Stoudamire and Darius Miles, Bonzi Wells and Ruben Patterson is over.

The Trail Blazers, who have had one of the most difficult schedules in November, are unbeaten in seven home games and 11-6 overall and they are looking a lot like another team that played in the Northwest, the mid-1990s Seattle Sonics.

Like those Sonics, the Blazers have interchangeable parts, making the substitution rotations feel seamless. Like the Sonics, Portland has a disparate group of players who bring different talents to the floor.

"I think this could be like that team," said McMillan, one of the leaders of those Sonics teams. "I think it might be even more so with this team."

"As far as the depth, we were playing eight or nine guys on those teams, but I think we can play 10 guys, or 11 guys or 12. I think we're deeper than that Sonic group."

Like those teams, the Blazers have two stars. Think of Roy as someone similar to Gary Payton and Aldridge as a young Shawn Kemp.

"LaMarcus and Greg should be just as good as Shawn and better than the combination of Shawn and Sam [Perkins] that we had," McMillan said. "I think LaMarcus can be as good as Shawn.

"Both are very athletic, but he can shoot better than Shawn. Shawn was more of a power player in the paint. A runner, a finisher. LaMarcus can run and finish, and defensively, he's longer and probably a little better defender than Shawn."

Sergio Rodriguez replaces starting point guard Steve Blake, and the Blazers roll. Joel Pryzbilla subs for center Greg Oden, small forward Travis Outlaw enters for the surprising French rookie starter Nicolas Batum and the Blazers breathe energy. A Spanish sensation, rookie Rudy Fernandez, comes into the game and it's lights out.

"I think we've had unselfish play," McMillan said before the Blazers' win Friday over New Orleans. "We are playing together and taking advantage of our ability. We have guys who can score, who can shoot the ball and not get caught up in individual numbers, playing the game the right way so everybody will benefit from that and we will have success. That's what we're teaching."

Portland has the most interesting box scores in the league. Check out the postgame stat sheet and see which players contributed on which nights. Did Roy have a double-double? How many rebounds did Oden get? Did Fernandez light it up from behind the arc? And which other reserves lifted the team?

"We've got guys who can play," McMillan said. "And if guys are playing well, they're going to stay there. But if not, we can look at other players. I won't be putting guys on a short leash, where they're out there thinking about being subbed or sat down."

The Blazers, who just a few seasons ago were an embarrassment, now are an embarrassment of riches.

The West is getting older, but Portland is getting better. Teams like Dallas, Phoenix, Houston and Denver could break down later in the season. Portland, because of its youth and its depth, can stay fresh deep into May.

Another NBA season has begun in the Northwest and, while the game is gone in Seattle, Basketball is back in Portland. And judging by the depth and youth of the Portland Trail Blazers, a dynasty slowly could be building again in this Rip-ped city.

Steve Kelley: 206-464-2176 or skelley@seattletimes.com