The Portland Trail Blazers suffered a 42-point loss to the Utah Jazz in their last contest and it seems that the defeat is sticking with them. Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups spoke about the loss and how he wants his team to handle things moving forward.
“We’re so fragile mentally, a lot of times,” Billups said. “We’ve got to just get better there and know that when there’s a couple of things going on in-house, you still can get through them. You still can handle it. But we’re just so fragile, mature-wise, that you have the lowest of the lows. But that’s not really where we are though, which is positive.”
Portland was run off the court by the Jazz in front of their loyal fans at the Moda Center. It was a terrible showing all around but the Trail Blazers are looking forward to the challenge of turning the table.
Their mentality is the biggest lesson to learn from this loss. Billups is hopeful that his guys take the feeling of the blowout and don't let it happen to them ever again.
Utah didn't even have their best player, Lauri Markkanen, and they still shot 55 percent from the field. Guard Anfernee Simons somewhat admitted that they took the team for granted since Markkanen wasn't available.
“That’s the most dangerous game to me,” he said. “It’s easy to get up for a game when you know their best player is playing, and it’s gonna be a competitive match. And you look forward to the matchup. Then, when those guys go out, it’s kind of a letdown, in a way. And you kind of take it for granted.”
Portland will get another chance to redeem themselves when they take on the Los Angeles Lakers. Billups gave his thoughts on how the Trail Blazers can get past this tough time.
“The only way you get through it is to go through it,” Billups said.
While Portland has been a little more competitive this season, they still aren't anywhere close to contending for a playoff spot. This season was mainly going to be used for growth and development as the front office weighs in on which of the young core will be around for the long haul.
If the Trail Blazers can find a way to push through this adversity, it would show a lot about this unit. Playing better against the Lakers can be a start and then they can take it from there.
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