The Portland Trail Blazers have had a mediocre start to the season, currently the 10th seed in the loaded Western Conference with an underwhelming record of 11-13. To add to this, Blazers star Damian Lillard has been battling his way through an abdominal injury, which has been attributed to his subpar season thus far, and is currently forcing him to miss some time. Finally, concerns surrounding chemistry between the coaching staff and the players have haunted Blazers fans, with many thinking that new head coach Chauncey Billups is not the right fit for Portland, reinforced by fact that the Blazers management had no significant roster changes leading up to the season.

Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic provide some context for Lillard's, and the Blazers' woes:

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“But two key concerns of his [Lillard] were not accounted for last offseason: Lillard’s desire for roster changes and for Jason Kidd, then a Lakers assistant and now Dallas Mavericks coach, to be strongly considered for the Portland job opening after Terry Stotts was fired. Olshey instead targeted LA Clippers assistant Chauncey Billups as the new coach and did not make major changes to the roster, believing the current core was built for contention.”

While the organization seemingly failed to satisfy Lillard's offseason wishlist, the Blazers have largely fallen short of playing more competitively despite the coaching change in Billups, and with familiarity of the current roster. Portland currents ranks dead last in defensive rating, yet another indicator of stagnation in the Blazers organization. This comes in light of Billups supposedly being a more defensive-minded coach. Whether or not Chauncey Billups, Damian Lillard, and the rest of the Portland Trail Blazers find a remedy to their sluggish season so far is still unknown, yet one can only hope that it comes soon, if it comes at all.