Monday’s 123-103 loss to the Golden State Warriors ended the Portland Trail Blazers season after a year-long struggle to enter the postseason. As a plucky eighth seed, they just couldn’t stand up to the overpowering might of the defending Western Conference Champions.Damian Lillard promised a fight when he entered the series and got misquoted after being forced into a prediction of Portland in six games. He averaged 27 points in the series and did all he could to get his team a single victory, but it was not enough.For the past two season, Golden State has ended the Blazers’ season. This year, the team was forecast to make a step forward after a surprising second round appearance last spring. As the year dragged on, it was clear that the squad had a ceiling.Still, Lillard was gracious in defeat and gave credit to his adversaries for beating the team four times without any real doubt. He has called Stephen Curry the best shooter of our time on his personal Twitter account in the past and he got a firsthand look during these four games.

That doesn’t mean that he’s going to be giving up on chasing the Dubs anytime soon though. Dame Dolla told ESPN’s Chris Haynes that the super-team is his new motivation going forward and that he plans to break through against Kevin Durant and company soon.

Lillard said: “You have to be obsessed with that because you know that they’re so good that they’re going to be there. That’s who you’re going to have to get through to get to where you want to get to. That’s what it is.

“I think about when the Pistons were just beating up on (Michael) Jordan. Just kicking his butt every year, and he had to get through them if he wanted to get to where he wanted to get to. That’s just what it is … they’re going to be there every year. We have to look at that and understand that we got to be better.”

Those are tough sentiments from somebody that feels like he is the best player on the court anytime that he steps foot on the hardwood. He understands that the only road to the Finals runs through his hometown of Oakland for the next few years.

Dame also invoked Michael Jordan in his comments which might raise some eyebrows, but he is right to point out that every great player has his struggles with a team before breaking through. Jordan is the most widely used example because of his rivalry with the “Bad Boys.”

He will be around next year, unfortunately, so will the Warriors.