It's no wonder why Trail Blazers fans love Damian Lillard.
He's a great player, he's committed to winning in Portland and he's a team-first guy. Add some pieces to the roster and see where it goes, he says. It's the kind of attitude you want from a superstar player. And, backcourt mate CJ McCollum has the same mindset: build a good team to go to battle in the NBA Western Conference, try to stay healthy and fight till the end.
Lillard spoke about winning an NBA championship recently. He said the Blazers have won NBA playoff series in his first eight years, went to the conference finals (2019) and have been in the discussion of being an NBA Finals team (hey, Charles Barkley's opinion counts).
The Blazers have their two great guards, a healthy Jusuf Nurkic, new players such as Robert Covington and Derrick Jones Jr. and more defensive ability (on paper) and lineup flexibility.
Why not think about making the NBA Finals? Sure, the defending champ Lakers with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and other teams, stand in the way, but the Blazers have proven to be formidable.
"Me and CJ, we always talk about winning it," Lillard said. "We know what it means to the organization and city. We just talk about winning it. Try to do our work and get it done."
The Blazers have to be a balanced team, however, and it appears they have become one, Lillard added.
"You gotta be a really deep and experienced team to win. I think we got two guys in myself and CJ who are very capable, and a pretty deep roster, (a title) could very well happen. Nobody knows until it gets to that point. We got this, we got that, and if it comes together right, it's clicking right, we're on top of things we should be doing, it can happen. We do know it's possible."
McCollum agreed: He and Lillard talk about winning the NBA title.
"It's something we want to accomplish," he said. "The city deserves it, the organization deserves it. But it takes a lot to win a championship.
"The Lakers had LeBron and AD, but other players stepped up. You need that. Each team has a couple guys (who are) extremely talented. We're heading in that direction (of a title), we've been close, but we ran into the Warriors and Lakers (in recent years). Being close is not good enough; we're trying to figure out how to get over that hump. Quality role players and main guys have to perform extremely well. You have to have a good seed. All those little things cultivate what could be a championship experience."
McCollum addressed specific needs for a championship team: "Health matters, it doesn't matter what kind of roster you have"; adding pieces to align with the team's trajectory, offensively and defensively; figuring out how to be better defensively; playing guys who can catch and shoot and rebound. And there are more factors, he added.
Coach Terry Stotts was an assistant coach on the 2011 NBA champion Dallas Mavericks. Are the Blazers close to winning it all?
"I like our chances. I like our team. I think we'll be a very competitive team," he said. "We've shown in the past we can be a competitive team. This year is no exception. Even though it's 72 games, it's still a long season. I think we'll be as competitive as any team. Once you get to the playoffs … look at Miami (a surprise Eastern Conference winner and NBA Finals team). You get into a series, anything can happen."
• Training camp had to be postponed last weekend because of three positive COVID-19 tests within the organization and ensuing necessary cleaning at the Tualatin practice facility. When on court, the Trail Blazers have one primary goal: get better playing defense.
The Blazers allowed 122 points a game in the NBA bubble and 116.1 overall last year, only ahead of four teams.
Getting wing players Covington and Jones helps, as does acquiring big man Harry Giles. Gary Trent Jr. emerged as a good defender in the NBA bubble. Rodney Hood has been a capable defender. Once Zach Collins comes back, he'll provide length and ability in the front court, helping defend with Jusuf Nurkic and Enes Kanter.
Lillard said he and McCollum also have to be better defensively.
"We've never had a problem scoring the ball," Lillard said. "Defensively is where we've been inconsistent.
"Me and CJ gotta take the challenge more on defense," he added. "Make sure we hold ourselves accountable." Show a true commitment, be disciplined and focused, follow the scouting report, know tendencies and rebound better, he added.
Said McCollum: "For us as a team, it's about the guards. The guards have to do a better job guarding — myself and Dame." That means playing pick-and-roll better, trapping and more.
"Once we get everybody back, we should be in position to execute our game plan. It doesn't get much worse than how we played defensively (last season)."
• This and that: If possible, the Blazers will play the first two of four preseason games at Moda Center, Dec. 11 (7:30 p.m.) and Dec. 13 (6 p.m.) against Sacramento, and two more on the road, Dec. 16 (6 p.m.) and Dec. 18 (6 p.m.) at Denver. … Collins' (ankle) won't be ready for the start of the regular season, but everybody else will be (including Hood). … The regular season begins against Utah, Dec. 23 at the Moda Center, followed by a Dec. 26 home game against Houston. The first road game: Dec. 28 at L.A. Lakers. … Stotts said that a condensed training camp worries him a bit. "They're in good shape," he said, of players, "but are they in NBA game shape? The ramp-up to the first game is concerning."