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Blazers get no respect on Christmas Day -- or any other day, it seems

The NBA Christmas Day schedule has been leaked and you've probably noticed by now that the Trail Blazers aren't on it.

But did you notice, too, that the league included ALL of the teams on Christmas that played in last season's conference semi-finals… except Portland? But that had to be because the league couldn't resist putting its newest anointed star, Zion Williamson , on the tube that day,

Of course, that doesn't really matter much. Who cares? Well, I'm sure Blazer fans do.

If the Trail Blazers aren't on the docket for a game on the league's showcase day, the league and the networks obviously don't value the team much, right?

But aren't you used to that by now?

Certainly, the prevailing opinion of the Trail Blazers hasn't changed much over the years.

Under-valued. Under-appreciated.

Last season, Portland had a Christmas game vs. Utah and it was the franchise's first on that day since 2010.

But when you think about it, preseason predictions and projections have sold the team short for many years. Last season, Las Vegas consensus was that Portland would win 41.5 games . It won 53 - in spite of a couple of late-season injuries to key players and earned the West's third seed for the second straight season. This year, the website FiveThirtyEight.com sees the Blazers with 40 wins in 2019-20 and just a 33 percent chance of making the playoffs.

Like it or not, they are perpetual underdogs.

Blazers get no respect on Christmas Day -- or any other day, it seems originally appeared on NBC Sports Northwest