PORTLAND — After back-to-back losses to some of the elite teams in the Western Conference, and three straight losses overall, things aren’t getting any easier for the Portland Trail Blazers over the course of their five-game home stand.
Up next for the Blazers are Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder, who enter Sunday with the third-best record in the Western Conference.
It’s a stretch in which the Blazers are able to measure themselves against some of the best teams in the league, but it’s too early to tell how much this stretch will reveal about this team.
“I think different stretches tell you different things,” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. “I don’t know if it’s the most telling or not. Playing against the elite teams is a measuring stick, without question. You kind of measure yourself against every team in the league. But when you play Clippers, Golden State, Oklahoma City in a three-game stretch, those are three of the top five teams in the league.”
Friday night’s loss to the now 34-2 Warriors was also a lesson to the Blazers, and guard Damian Lillard offered his viewpoint on the keys to Golden State’s success.
“I don’t even think it’s about how talented they are,” Lillard said. “It’s about how they play together and the understanding they have about what makes them them. The way they move without the ball, the way they share the ball. Offensively, guys know what they bring to the table, what the team needs from them.”
Lillard is coming off his best game of the season with a 40-point, 10-assist performance against the Warriors, the only 40-point 10-assist game from a Blazer in the Moda Center.
But now the Blazers are mired in yet another losing streak, one of many they’ve endured this season.
As they approach the midway point of their season next week, Lillard says that one thing he’s learned about the Blazers is that they’re prepared to weather the storms that come in a season.
“I think we’ve stuck with whatever has come our way,” Lillard said. “We’ve had some tough times, we’ve had some good times. The good thing is we’ve been able to stay even keeled through it all.”
The Blazers were blown out by the Thunder in their first meeting in Oklahoma City, 106-90.
