Blazers' Damian Lillard after blowout in Houston: 'We kind of suck right now'
Portland is having a tough time
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1 min read
The Portland Trail Blazers are having trouble sustaining last year's surprising success. They lost 126-109 to the Houston Rockets on Friday, two days after an even more dispiriting 113-88 loss to the Chicago Bulls. With a record of 7-6 and the second-worst defensive rating in the league, Blazers star Damian Lillard offered a blunt assessment of his team afterward, as did swingman Evan Turner.
"We kind of suck right now,'' Damian Lillard said. "It's that simple.''
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Can the defense get better? Evan Turner looked wide-eyed at the question before answering.
"Sh*%, it can't get no worse. Right?'' Evan Turner said incredulously. "It's gotta go somewhere ... ''
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"We've been bad on offense, bad on defense ... we are trying hard but we are not always making the smartest plays,'' Lillard said. "We just not very good right now.''
The defense is obviously the biggest problem. Houston started the game off by outscoring Portland 41-29 in the first quarter, and after the Blazers fought back, the Rockets won the third quarter 38-21. Houston scored 126.3 points per 100 possessions, a mark that would easily lead the league, and it shot 48.4 percent from the field, 14-for-32 from 3-point range and 20-for-25 from the free throw line.
Of course, the Rockets have been a great offensive team all season -- it's hard for anybody to stop a spread pick-and-roll offense where James Harden is has the ball in his hands with 3-point shooters around him. The issue is that Houston also outrebounded Portland, destroyed them in transition and generally looked more connected on defense. And the Blazers' problems have been there all season -- they needed superb offensive performances in close wins over the Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns, and they have an overtime loss to Phoenix on their resume, too.
Last season, Portland caught the league by surprise and wildly outperformed expectations. After beating a beaten-up Los Angeles Clippers team in the first round, it came back this season with a totally different outlook.
Fair or not, this season is going to look like a disappointment if the Blazers do not fix their issues pretty quickly. With games coming up against the New Orleans Pelicans, Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks, they have a good opportunity to improve their defensive rating and get some more confidence, at least.
