Eggers: Owner Paul Allen Says "It's Fun To See" People Buy Into Blazers' Success

Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune landed a quick-hitting Q&A with Portland Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen, who is excited about the Blazers' start as well as the success of the Seattle Seahawks.

Tribune: Has the Blazers' incredible start caught you by surprise?

Allen: I said not long ago that we've exceeded initial expectations. But once you get on a roll, everybody expects you to continue that. It's fun to see when you step up to a certain level, people buy in. They believe. But the games never stop coming. It's always interesting to see the ups and downs of the season. With the Seahawks, we're a few weeks away from the playoffs. We have a long way to go here in Portland for that.

Tribune: Are you beginning to feel the Blazers are a team capable of winning the NBA championship this season?

Allen: Oh, I never make predictions like that. We made a concerted effort in the offseason to bolster our bench. We knew we had a solid starting group. This is a good example of the difference a solid bench can make. This is much more of a wide-open year out West. Some of the teams that have been traditional powers like the Lakers not doing as well as they have in past years. If you're in the West, the teams are going to be so comparable from one through eight, there are going to be some interesting match-ups in the playoffs.

Here's the full interview.

Back in November, Allen praised the jobs done by coach Terry Stotts and GM Neil Olshey.

A transcript of Allen's preseason comments from October is right here.

-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter