The Trail Blazers’ loss to the Suns extended their current losing streak to four games and nudged Portland just outside of the Western Conference postseason picture. Regardless of the injuries and less-than-ideal performances, coach Terry Stotts is still focused on the playoffs.
Following Monday’s contest, The Athletic’s Jason Quick returned to a question about prioritizing the NBA Draft lottery over the postseason. Despite dropping six games below .500, Stotts delivered a familiar response.
“You brought that up about a month ago which I thought was extremely premature and I think it’s premature right now,” Stotts said.