Damian Lillard Stands Up For Blazers' Coaching Staff Amid Rash of Disappointing Losses

Portland's leader refused to throw his coaching stuff under the bus after another one-point loss.

The Trail Blazers lost a second one-point game in 24 hours on Wednesday night, their third in the last five outings. Portland is just 3-8 in April, and hasn't beaten a winning team in over a calendar month. 

Once threatening for home-court advantage, the Blazers are now at serious risk of falling into the play-in tournament. They're just a half-game up on the Dallas Mavericks for sixth in the Western Conference, and own the league's seventh-hardest remaining schedule, according to Tankathon. Dallas, by contrast, has an easier finishing slate than all but three teams in the league.

Needless to say, things haven't exactly gone as anticipated since Portland acquired Norman Powell and Jusuf Nurkic got back on the floor. The most popular scapegoat for the Blazers' labors? Terry Stotts, of course, and the wild finish of Wednesday's nail-biting loss to the short-handed Denver Nuggets only made his longtime seat on Portland's sideline hotter.

Damian Lillard, though, refused to throw Stotts and his staff under the bus when asked after the games if the players or coaches were most to blame for the Blazers underachieving. As Portland's leader sees it, the onus to improve, especially defensively, falls most on he and his teammates.

Who is to blame for the Blazers’ inconsistencies, especially on defense, the players or coach Terry Stotts? Here is Damian Lillard’s take. #RipCity pic.twitter.com/qCP1tVEF0f

— Aaron J. Fentress (@AaronJFentress) April 22, 2021

Lillard's typically lengthy, candid and thoughtful response basically boils down to this.

"It's more up to us as players than the coaches; they can't go on the court and save us."

Say what you will about the Blazers' defense. They don't defend with enough intensity, togetherness and communication. Portland's offense is prone to bouts of stagnation, and not just when Carmelo Anthony goes to work on his prescribed diet of isolations. Stotts' planned rotations and on-the-fly substitutions haven't always made sense, either. 

At times, it's even appeared as if the Blazers have tuned out the coaching staff, going rogue on the court as frustration mounts. Nurkic admitted as much shortly after his return, and Stotts confirmed it.

Despite all that strife and Portland's increasingly tenuous grasp on a top-six seed, though, Lillard isn't letting his team off the hook nor letting go of the rope. No matter what the future holds for Stotts, it's a testament to his standing in the locker room that the Blazers' franchise cornerstone remains staunchly behind him in public.

We'll find out over the next few weeks if that's enough for the Blazers to turn their disappointing season around before it's really too late.

[h/t Aaron Fentress, The Oregonian]

READ MORE: Why Terry Stotts Believes Portland Is Still 'Going In The Right Direction'