With the playoffs right around the corner, the Portland Trail Blazers have found themselves in a rut the last few games. They're currently on a three-game losing streak after suffering a tough loss to the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night. They've lost five of their last six games, all of which have been by nine points or less.
Superstar guard Damian Lillard is growing frustrated and rightfully so, per NBC Sports. The Trail Blazers are coming close in nearly every game they play in lately but can't close them out for a win. Portland could just as easily be on a three-game winning streak if they could maintain the leads they generate. Instead, everything collapses and they find themselves with a loss.
“We’ve got a bad habit of working hard and putting possessions together and putting stretches together and then we relax.”
A bad habit this team needs to break soon if they intend on making a deep run in the playoffs. The Trail Blazers currently sit in sixth place in the Western Conference. However, they're only half of a game ahead of the Dallas Mavericks.
“We build a 10-point lead or an eight-point lead and then we feel like we got room, and we just relax, and you can see it and you can feel it sometimes,” Lillard added.
If Portland doesn't correct this issue, they could find themselves participating in the play-in tournament this year. That is a situation this organization would like to avoid, as it could mean the Trail Blazers miss the playoffs for the first time in Damian Lillard's career.
We'll see if the Trail Blazers can break this bad stretch on Friday night, as they face off against the Memphis Grizzlies in an incredibly important matchup as everyone tries to stay in the top six of their respective conference to avoid the dreaded play-in tournament.
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