Damian Lillard Wants Blazers To 'Look In The Mirror' After Another Blowout Loss

Portland is now 1-8 against teams ahead of them in the Western Conference standings.

There's no avoiding the Trail Blazers' struggles against basketball's best. 

Consecutive blowout losses to the LA Clippers and Utah Jazz this week move Portland to 1-8 against Western Conference teams with a better record. The Blazers' -11.2 net against opponents with a top-10 point differential ranks 24th in the league, per Cleaning the Glass, just behind the rebuilding Oklahoma City Thunder.

Needless to say, Portland doesn't exactly look like a championship contender as the regular season enters its stretch run. At least Damian Lillard's frank assessment of the Blazers' place in the league hierarchy will force them to confront it.

"I'm the most optimistic. I'm the biggest believer," he said after Thursday's loss to the Jazz. "But there comes a time where when you get on the floor, you gotta do it, and you gotta show that you're that level of a team. And we just haven't shown it when those matchups have come."

Just in the last seven days, Portland has lost by 19 points to Utah, 17 points to the Clippers and 18 points to the Milwaukee Bucks. 

Optimism stemming from Norman Powell's early success and the return of Jusuf Nurkic has vanished. A veteran team like the Blazers doesn't take much solace from winning games they should. Portland has just a single victory over an above-.500 foe in the past seven weeks.

Just like Lillard can't beat the league's elite teams all by himself, he can't simply motivate the Blazers into reaching a high plane of performance. He knows the type of self-reflection it will take for Portland to even begin getting out of this longstanding rut against quality competition, though.

"Gotta look in the mirror. You gotta look in the mirror, and you gotta...you gotta look at it," Lillard said. "You gotta look at the games that we've won, and look at the games that we've struggled in. The games that we've struggled in has been against the top-level competition. I don't think it's hard to see. I'm not saying nothing that's not obvious. I think for us, the first step is acknowledging the fact that's just the truth. And just being sharper and being locked in, and just taking that to heart. Having some pride about that fact that we don't play well against the top-level teams."

The Blazers' next opportunity to show off that mindset against a title contender? Thankfully, not for another five games until the Clippers come to Moda Center on April 20.

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