Two losses in 48 hours can make a strong start feel a lot shakier than it really is. For the Portland Trail Blazers, though, Damian Lillard sees the bigger picture: a team that has already banked a 6-3 start, gone 5-1 on the road and given itself room to learn without letting a rough weekend turn into panic.
That was the point of Monday’s practice and longer film session in Tualatin. After falling to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday and the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday, the Blazers returned to work with a clear message from Lillard: the early record shows this group can get a lot better, and that is easier to say when you are 6-3 than when you are chasing your footing at 2-7.
Why the film session mattered
Lillard’s description of the response was simple enough. The film does not lie, and after two games like the ones against the Lakers and Spurs, the Blazers had to see the mistakes for what they were. The goal was not to overreact, but to correct themselves. That meant watching, talking and then getting back on the court to make adjustments.
Micah Nori said the session centered on getting back to where the team wants to be, especially on the defensive end. He added that there was not necessarily slippage, but that the Blazers needed to show more physicality and impose their will more consistently. In other words, the issue was less about effort disappearing and more about making that effort count in the right stretches.
That distinction matters. Early in the season, a 6-3 record can hide small problems, but it can also give a team the cushion to actually fix them. Nori said those conversations are much easier to have when a team has won 6 of its first 9, rather than when it is 3-6 and reaching for the panic button.
What comes next
The timing of the reset is just as important as the message. The Blazers were set to face the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Moda Center on Tuesday at 8 p.m. PST, then see them again Wednesday night at 7 p.m. PST. That kind of back-to-back is a quick test of whether the corrections from practice carry over under game pressure.
For now, Lillard’s view is that the Blazers are in a good place. Not because they are finished products, but because they have already shown enough to know the season is pointing in the right direction. Six of the first nine is a strong start. The next step is making sure the recent losses look more like a warning than a trend.
