It’s been two years since the Portland Trail Blazers launched their “Rise With Us” slogan, a mantra that epitomizes the franchise’s hope of soaring back into NBA prominence on the broad, youthful shoulders of Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden.

As Portland prepares for their second consecutive playoff push — with Oden lost for the season after left knee surgery and Roy returning from a nagging right hamstring that kept him out of the lineup for four weeks — “Rise With Us” has become more than a 127-by-59-foot vinyl sign that hangs on the giant grain silo across from the Rose Garden.

Today, the catchphrase is a symbol for increasing ticket sales (and prices), a growing roster payroll and also the lofty expectations the franchise and its anxious fan base have placed on Coach Nate McMillan and company — expectations that may not be achievable in this injury-riddled season.

What if the Blazers slip and fall down the stretch instead of ascending?

What if their postseason prayers aren’t answered?

Perhaps “Be Patient With Us” is a more fitting motto.

Also rising:  costs, concerns
In early February, the website nba.com reported a 6.7 percent spike in season ticket prices for next season. Home attendance has reached an average of 20,464 a game, fourth overall in the NBA. At the end of the day, the “B” in “NBA” stands for “business,” and this is simply a case of supply and demand. The Oregonian reported that average ticket price of $45.59 currently ranks Portland below the league average of $65.70.  That’s $1.08 more than it costs to see the lowly New Jersey Nets.

And remember those promotional price categories from three years ago, when Portland wasn’t as demanding a draw? Those are gone like Shavlik Randolph, Steve Blake and Travis Outlaw.

Given how this team has rebuilt itself and restored a respectable public image while racking up wins along the way, it was inevitable that ticket prices would climb. But that’s not the only number on the rise.

Player payroll is up.
Before the start of the 2009-10 season, the NBA salary cap was set at $57.7 million, and for the rest of this season Portland will be over the cap at $58.5 million in total roster payroll. Going into 2010-11, the Blazers have 11 players already under contract for $48 million, which does not include their newest addition, 14-year veteran center Marcus Camby, who will be an unrestricted free agent.

Next year, the salary cap should be in the ballpark of $51 to $53 million, leaving Paul Allen and the Blazers’ brain trust little wiggle room in filling the remaining four roster spots.

But as we’ve seen with the acquisition of Camby to fill the middleman void left by Oden and Joel Przybilla — as well as with the max contracts to Roy and Aldridge last summer — the Blazers know they have to payto play.

All they ask is that you do the same:  You’ll have to ante-up for those pricey tix next season.

Biting tongues, biding time
You’ll also pay by enduring the rest of this season to see if this Jekyll-and-Hyde team can cling to the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Is that too much to ask?

Lord knows you’ve made it this far.

Without a doubt, this has been one of the strangest seasons for the Blazers in recent memory. How else do you describe a preseason full of promise followed by a regular season gripped with pain?   Portland’s players have missed a combined 261 games — and counting — because of injuries, already 25 percent over last season’s total of 205 games.

Oden and Przybilla blew out their knees within 18 days of each other in November and December. In January, a beleaguered Andre Miller exploded during practice, directing and expletive-filled rant at McMillan. Later that month, an embarrassed Oden sat at the team’s practice facility apologizing for explicit photos posted on the Internet. In early February, Roy declined to participate in the NBA All-Star Game in Dallas after constant therapy yielded little results for his injured hamstring. After originally straining it in mid-January, the three-time All-Star aggravated it days later, causing him to miss 15 games.

He hasn’t been the same since.

Short of jumping from the Fremont Bridge, Blazer diehards blow up Twitter and Facebook daily, and remain vexed at the thought of Portland missing the playoffs. Unfortunately, that could be Rip City’s reality if Roy decides to shut it down for the rest of the season. Yet, some fans believe that  putting this season to bed early isn’t such a bad idea: It would be a step closer to a summer full of rest, recharging and possibly reshuffling parts of the roster.

But even then, questions linger.

What will the future hold for Oden after two major surgeries in three years? Is signing Camby to play behind Aldridge and provide an insurance policy for Oden and Przybilla the wisest move?

Will Aldridge ever develop a true low-post game? Is Roy injury prone?

Who is the next to be traded with front offices around the league clamoring for Rudy Fernandez and Jerryd Bayless?

What do the cards hold for the NBA draft and free agency knowing the Blazers aren’t looking to get younger?

Portland may be on the rise in this league, but how long until they get there?