On paper, the Portland Trail Blazers might seem like a solid playoff squad, but their record this season shows otherwise. After a blazing hot start, Portland will likely miss the play-in tournament for the second consecutive season.
Now, amid a 5-game losing streak (one of their worst of the season), head coach Chauncey Billups has become the target of blame for angry Blazers fans.
But if you ask Damian Lillard, Chauncey is not the one to blame for the team’s current struggles.
“A lot of things go into a team struggling, and I’ve never been a fan — even going back to Terry — of blaming the coach,” Lillard said, via The Athletic. “I think there are a lot of things on the court, and that you can see in film, that us as players have to be better about. The last two years, we’ve been really young, and I think it’s hard for a first-time coach to have a young team, where you have to do so much teaching. But that’s the way this goes: You lose games, you struggle and people are going to be saying, ‘We need a new coach!’ We made the playoffs for eight years, and they said the same thing about Terry.”
Chauncey hasn’t been on the job for more than a few years, but his reign can not be called a success. With Lillard in the prime of his career, now is the time that Portland should be competing for titles.
Instead, they are facing another lost season as they scramble to salvage what’s left of Lillard’s best years.
Could Damian Lillard Leave The Blazers?
Despite the massive disappointment his team has been, Dame remains loyal to the franchise and the city of Portland, just like he has for his entire career. There are no signs of him leaving and no signs the Blazers would ever consider trading him right now.
But if the team doesn’t take action soon and surround Lillard with the pieces he needs to contend, things could get really ugly really fast.
In short, Portland has to do whatever it can to upgrade the roster, or the window to compete may slam shut for good.
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