The Portland Trail Blazers don't view themselves as underdogs in their first-round matchup against the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers, and neither does LeBron James.

Ahead of Tuesday's Game 1 showdown, James put some respect on Damian Lillard and the Blazers:

“I don't really look at them as a typical 8-seed, and I'm not really going in with that mindset,” James said in an interview with TNT. “It's two teams that have the ability to advance, have the firepower to advance, and whatever team is on the top of their game … will advance.”

James added that he isn't surprised by Lillard's incredible run of play in the restart (37.6 PPG, 9.6 APG):

“Dame is doing what Dame does,” the four-time MVP said. “One of the most underappreciated, underrated players that we have in our game. But, from a players' perspective, he has everyone's respect in our league.

Portland (28-36) pulled out six wins in the seeding games, then defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 126-122 on Saturday to secure a spot in the postseason.

After Saturday's game, Lillard expressed his belief in his team against the Lakers, all while returning some praise onto James:

“They’re the No. 1 seed in the West for a reason. They have the best player in the world,” Lillard said. “We feel like we have a chance in a series against any team in this league. We feel like we have a chance in this series.”

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Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony expressed similar sentiments last week:

“We don’t consider ourselves an 8-seed…We consider ourselves a very good basketball team coming together at the right time,” Anthony told ESPN's Rachel Nichols.

The Lakers (52-19) haven't looked like themselves yet in Orlando, as they won just three of their seeding games.

James posted a minus-6 in his first seven bubble contests, averaging 22.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 6.9 assists—considerably down from his pre-hiatus rates (25.7 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 10.6 APG).