The narrow losses should actually be inspiring

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After losing to the moribund Washington Wizards on Thursday night - at the buzzer no less, the Portland Trail Blazers sat at 7-20 and seven games out of a playoff position.

They’ve won just twice in the last three weeks, and are ahead of just one team in the Western Conference: San Antonio, which has won just four games all season.

Thursday’s loss, 118-117, was to the 5-22 Wizards.

So, is that inspiring in any way? Or should it be?

Here’s a vote that’s how it should be looked at, and that Chauncey Billups is actually doing a helluva job as coach, in his third year with the team and first without the soul of the franchise, Damian Lillard.

The two wins in the last three weeks fall into a stretch of games the Blazers had a chance to win, nearly all of them. The team is 1-8 in December, but five of the losses were by five points or less - one in overtime.

What makes it inspiring is the constant line-up shuffling Billups has been made to handle due to injuries, such as Jerami Grant for three weeks, and regular seemingly challenged effort from Deandre Ayton, which seemed to pick up this week.

Those narrow losses are just a bit more playing time together and fire in Ayton, that’s the view from here.

Portland is seven games from a playoff spot, but the Western Conference is a very fluid work in progress, and a Blazers hot streak, say winning eight of 10 instead of the other way around, would move the team into being a talking point for playoff potential. And, that’s the part of the season a team wants to be winning eight of 10 games.