Last season, the Portland Trail Blazers were the second-biggest surprise of the year. Though they didn’t blow expectations out of the water like the Phoenix Suns did, Rip City actually made the playoffs as the fifth seed in the brutal Western Conference.

From there, they proceeded to upset the Houston Rockets in dramatic fashion in the first round, closing out James Harden and company on a Damian Lillard buzzer beater that clinched the series in six games. The San Antonio Spurs took care of Portland in the next round, but no one can say the Blazers had a mediocre season last year.

After months of predicting regression for a team that had four starters play 82 games last year, I’m finally on the Blazers bandwagon for 2014-15.

So, without any major upgrades to the roster. how is it possible the Blazers look more like contenders this year than they did last season? Here’s a look at the four main reason Portland looks like an early Western Conference contender.