The Portland Trail Blazers suffered a tough loss on Friday at the hands of the Sacramento Kings. The Blazers were on the wrong end of a blowout, 133-116, as Portland opted to sit out both Damian Lillard and Jerami Grant in the game. With Jusuf Nurkic and Anfernee Simons also out injured, it wasn't a surprise that the Blazers failed to cope with the Kings' firepower.
Lillard has now spoken out about his one-game layoff, and he has made it abundantly clear that this was brought about by the travel problems the team encountered before the Kings game. Head coach Chauncey Billups echoed Dame's thoughts as both of them vehemently denied any intention to tank this season:
“Both Chauncey Billups and Damian Lillard made it clear today at practice that resting him and Jerami was a one-time thing because of the flight issues. The idea that they’re going to tank was always ridiculous but there you have it straight from the source,” per Blazers beat reporter Sean Highkin.
Portland is far from the best team in the NBA right now, but they are still well within striking distance of a spot in the playoffs. They are 12th in the conference at the moment with a 28-31 record, and it is clear that Damian Lillard and Chauncey Billups are not buying in on the tank narrative.
“What we did last year, we got a great young player out of it in [Shaedon Sharpe], but that s**t wasn't easy,” Billups said. “Especially for a first-time coach, coming into games hoping I can keep it within 30. I never want to go through that again.”
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