Damian Lillard On Blazers' Title Hopes: 'I Think We Can Do It'
The Trail Blazers aren't exactly considered a real threat to hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy at season's end.
Early betting trends for the first round make Portland the slightest of favorites against the short-handed Denver Nuggets. The extent of the Blazers' hopes beyond Denver depends mostly on matchups, but they'd be clear underdogs even in a potential second-round series with the Phoenix Suns. Portland would face even longer odds against the Los Angeles Lakers. Rip City's collective sigh of relief at avoiding the LA Clippers in the first round says it all about the Blazers' prospects versus Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and company.
Damian Lillard knows exactly how his team is perceived. Entering the playoffs for an eighth straight season, the NBA's longest active streak, he just doesn't care. What matters most to Lillard is that he and his teammates believe they can bring a championship back to Portland.
"I know not a lot of people don't view us as a contender," he said on Sunday night. "I know a lot of y'all don't view us as a serious contender, and have things to say. It's fine. What we do do is give ourselves a chance every postseason, and we go into it believing we can be a team that can make a run. And if we don't believe that we don't have a chance."
Lillard's steadfast belief in the Blazers' title hopes dates back years, to every single time the playoffs dawn.
He's held onto it for so long, in fact, that he already knows where Portland's championship parade would take place: Along Broadway in downtown Portland, riding past El Guacho steakhouse.
Lillard understands that a Blazers championship parade seems like a pipedream. It's been nearly 50 years since Portland won its only championship. The team has made just two trips back to the Western Conference Finals since, most recently being swept by the short-handed Golden State Warriors in 2019.
But just like Lillard thought the Blazers could shock the world two years ago, he thinks they can do it again this time around – as long as everyone in Portland's locker room shares that faith.
"I think we can do it. If everybody thinks that and everybody believes that, that's when it happens," Lillard said on Sunday of Portland winning the championship this season. "That's when it can be done. People who've won it in the past, players and coaches I've spoken to over the last few weeks, they say the same thing. 'You can lead a team to get it done, but everybody has to believe it. And you gotta really push that.' And that's kind of like where my head is. I want it for this city, I want it for myself, I want it for our team."