Damian Lillard is not happy with his team, especially after their 135-90 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Saturday. After the game, Lillard didn’t mince words in criticizing his team, saying the Portland Trail 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.
“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.”
“I’m a soldier,” he said. “I feel like if I die, I can come back to life and win.”
“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.”
Reserve Allen Crabbe offered his take.
“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.”
Last season’s squad overachieved, finishing with a 44-38 record. They haven’t improved much in terms of personnel, but expectations this season were much higher. So far, they hold the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference, but they have a losing record of 13-16.
