The Portland Trail Blazers’ 122-110 loss at home to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday dropped them to 18-19, marking the first time they’ve been under .500 since 2008, The Oregonian notes, and there are some obvious attitude issues within the locker room.
"You could spend a day in this locker room and you'd figure it out. Some guys really care. Others just want the season to be over," one veteran on the team told The Oregonian.
Center Joel Przybilla, who rejoined the team last week after being traded to Charlotte last February, added, “I don’t think the effort was there in the first quarter. You can’t give up 40 points in your own building. You just can’t.”
The Blazers have lost nine of their last 13 games and have a seven-game road trip starting Wednesday.
"Irritated. Frustrated. Tired of what's going on,” guard Wesley Matthews said, according to Ben Golliver of the Blazer’s Edge blog. “I think everybody is baffled. No one really knows what's going on. Dropping under .500 is a reality check."
Oregonian columnist John Canzano points to Marcus Camby and Raymond Felton as two Portland players giving less than their best who are tradable because of their attitudes and expiring contracts.
With the loss to the T-Wolves, Canzano writes, Blazers coach Nate McMillan was “shoved another step closer to the unemployment line. ... McMillan is busting his chops, trying everything he can, but he’s apparently being undermined, and in the end, if the Blazers miss the playoffs, he’s toast.”
Blazers president Larry Miller, when asked if the team is more apt to tweak the roster before the NBA’s March 15 trade deadline or target a major overhaul this offseason, said "We are looking at every option right now. If there are some good deals out there to be made, then we will deal. If not, we will ride out the season and see what we can do at the end of the season. But we still want to make the playoffs. For sure. It's something we are still shooting for."
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