A few observations as the eighth-seeded Trail Blazers take on the challenge of facing the top-seeded L.A. Lakers in a seven-game first-round playoff series to which everyone across NBA circles will be paying attention …

• In a word, watching the Blazers’ nine-game run-up to the NBA playoffs has been fun.

Not because they made it — after 45 years in the sportswriting business, I’ll probably never think like a fan — but because Portland’s seeding games have been so watchable.