The Portland Trail Blazers have now lost six of their last seven games, and after their most recent loss – a 45-point blowout at the hands of the Golden State Warriors – star point guard Damian Lillard expressed his frustration. From ESPN’s Chris Haynes:
Damian Lillard didn’t mince words in criticizing his team, telling ESPN the Blazers’ performance was “ridiculous” and that the team’s recent slide “is on us,” not the coaches.
“Man, it’s OK to turn the ball over, it’s OK to make mistakes, but we have to play with some damn heart and compete out there,” he said of his teammates.
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“This isn’t about what the coaches are doing, this is on us,” Lillard said to ESPN in retelling what he stated to his teammates. “We have to take responsibility for what’s going on. This s— is ridiculous. We’ve got the talent; we’ve just got to put it together consistently.”
Fellow Portland guards C.J. McCollum and Allen Crabbe gave their two cents as well:
“This is unacceptable, no matter who you’re playing against, champions or not,” C.J. McCollum told ESPN. “You have to be ready to play and perform and compete, and I don’t think we did any of those things today.”
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“Honestly, there are really no words for it,” Crabbe said to ESPN. “Our play is really self-explanatory right now. We’ve got to get it together. It was a 40-point loss. That’s embarrassing right there.”
The problem for the struggling Trail Blazers – who have the NBA’s eighth-best offensive rating – lies on the defensive end. Portland has the absolute worst defensive rating in the NBA, and struggles on the backboard as well (fifth-fewest rebounds per game).
