PORTLAND – The Portland Trail Blazers start the 2016-17 preseason in less than a week and the franchise held its media day on Monday to begin training camp.
The players have already been working together at the Blazers’ practice facility and during another off-season trip to San Diego for team bonding. It was a formula that worked well for the Blazers last year, when the team chemistry led Portland to overachieve and reach the second round of the NBA playoffs.
While the players might be repeating moves made last off-season, they haven’t focused on the success it helped produce. In fact, Damian Lillard says the team hasn’t even talked about last year’s achievements because they fell short of the ultimate goal.
“We did some good things last year, but we didn’t do what we’re here for,” Lillard told reporters during his media day availability. “That means we still have work to do.”
The Blazers will hold training camp over the next week and then begin the preseason with a home game against the Utah Jazz on October 3.
BLAZERS PRESEASON SCHEDULE:
Monday, October 3 vs. Utah, 7:00 PM
Friday, October 7 vs. Phoenix, 7:00 PM
Tuesday, October 11 at LA Lakers, 7:30 PM
Thursday, October 13 at LA Clippers, 7:30 PM
Sunday, October 16 vs. Denver, 6:00 PM
Wednesday, October 19 at Utah, 7:00 PM
Friday, October 21 at Golden State, 7:30 PM
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— 1490 The Score (@KSKRTheScore) October 24, 2024