Whatever You Do, Do Not Suggest To Damian Lillard That The Blazers Should Start Tanking

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The Portland Trail Blazers currently find themselves in a bit of a pickle at the moment. At 28-31, they're currently fighting for their Play In/Playoff lives. The good news I suppose is even after their loss last night to the Kings, things aren't completely over with 20+ games remaining

Is it maybe a stretch to think they can get into the top 6? Probably, but the Play In is still absolutely on the table, and then once you get in the dance I guess anything can happen. 

Basically, this team is at a crossroads. Their situation differs from someone like the Lakers who do not own their 1st round pick this summer, so making the playoffs for them is pretty damn important. The Blazers owe their 2023 1st to CHI, but it's 1-14 protected. Essentially, they have the opposite problem. You could call it NBA Purgatory.

Not good enough to legit contend for a title, and not shitty enough to really have a great shot at the top pick.

As it stands now, the Blazers are 9th in the tank race and trail a top 3 spot by 13 games. You can sort of see the issue here. Should the Blazers pull a Spurs and find a way to lose 15 straight by tanking? I guess you could make the case that given how things work in the NBA that this is the right option, but whatever you do, don't suggest that to Dame

Hearing this from Dame isn't all that surprising. He's a competitor. He will always believe in himself, his talent, and his teammates and that's why he's one of the best players in the game.

I just think this is funny to hear, especially after last night when this happened

I know the Blazers plane took off only like 3-4 hours before the game started, but not playing your two best players for "rest" in the first game back from the All Star Break in which one of those players not only participated but also only played 23 minutes isn't exactly the best look. I'm not sure how you spin a "rest" day after 9-10 days off, but that's not my problem. Especially after the man himself tried to convince LeBron that he's still a young guy

To me, that was the Blazers waiving the white flag for this weird game. I get that the travel was less than ideal, but as a team the Blazers need to be in the business of winning games right now, not punting them. That's literally what the tanking teams are doing right now, and Dame made it clear that he has no interest in tanking, so what gives?

On one hand, I respect this from Dame. This is what you want from a franchise guy. Losing on purpose is for the birds. But…it's also how the NBA works. The Blazers need to decide if pushing for a Play In spot and potentially losing early in the playoffs worth drafting a player that could help. The problem is they've won too many games. They aren't going to be able to out tank the likes of SA/DET/HOU, but they also lose their pick if they keep winning. That's quite the pickle. I guess maybe they could get to maybe the 5th best odds? They only trail ORL by 3 games for that spot, and it would give them a 10.5% chance at the #1 pick compared to the 4.5% chance they currently have if they stay where they are. Unfortunately, the Pacers (2-8 over their last 10) and the Bulls (3-7, owe the pick to ORL) who are both ahead of POR are already working on moving up. 

Personally, I've seen Dame take games over by himself, so I'm rooting for them to NOT tank and get into the Play In so we can have a great game there. Give me something like Dame vs LeBron or Dame vs Steph or Dame vs Zion. I don't care if the Blazers win the title or not, so I'm more in favor of having as many entertaining Play In games as possible, and if anyone is capable of getting hot for a stretch and winning games, I would say Dame is that guy.

Not for nothing, the Blazers are 20-17 vs the West. Just something to keep in mind for the stretch run.