Damian Lillard says the Portland Trail Blazers are out of the NBA Playoffs race in the ongoing 2022-23 season.
The guard’s comments on the back of the team’s disappointing 117-102 loss to the LA Clippers. Speaking to the media after defeat, “We pretty much fallen out of the race for the 10th spot…” Lillard said. “I love to play, I love the competition and I haven’t been ready to give that up. But it does come a point in time when do you stop putting your competitive nature out front.”
"We pretty much fallen out of the race for the 10th spot… I love to play, I love the competition and I haven't been ready to give that up. But it does come a point in time when do you stop putting your competitive nature out front."
– Damian Lillard 😯 pic.twitter.com/N0J3jGsGzU
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 20, 2023
Portland was within the distance leading up to the skirmish against the Clippers but is now three-and-a-half games out of the tenth seed. Whatever marginal hope they do have appears quashed after the team is reportedly considering shutting Lillard down for the rest of the season.
The Blazers have seen a 2-8 slump in their last ten games. Given their dismal stretch, it’s highly unlikely that the side will even make the Top 10, especially in a packed Western Conference.
Damian Lillard Has Trail Blazers Coach Chauncey Billups’ Back Despite The Team’s Struggles
In what comes as a solid show of support, Lillard leaped to the defense of his team’s coach, Chauncey Billups. The latter garnered immense flak for the side’s poor run this season.
“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,” he added.
“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.”
The Blazers sit 13th in the West with a 31-40 record, and the numbers show why Lillard made the claim that the outfit’s chances of making the postseason are near zero. Only time will tell if they can make a better dash next season.
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