The Portland Trail Blazers are on a two-game losing streak after losing to the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs.

The losses give them a sign of where they stand after briefly appearing in first place in the Western Conference standings. The early returns have been promising for the Blazers after going 6-1 in their first seven games, but they shouldn't be discouraged following a pair of losses against teams they were projected to lose against.

Establishing the Blazers' Expectations

Going into the season, there was a wide range of possibilities for what the Blazers could accomplish this season. The trade acquisition involving Ja Morant raised the ceiling tremendously, but there are still question marks about whether the team would be able to withstand potential defensive struggles by fielding a team on the court that was much smaller than their opponent.

The Blazers proved early how and why this setup can work, which gives them hope to make a deep playoff run this year. However, the Blazers are still in their first mile or two of a marathon that they hope will last at least six more months. There are still more than 70 games left in the regular season, which puts them in position to make up ground from their losses over the weekend.

Looking at the Lakers Loss

The Blazers led by double digits in the first half against the Lakers, and it looked like they would have a chance to grab their second road win against the Lakers this season. Unfortunately, they ran into a buzzsaw in Luka Doncic, who is already playing better than anyone in the league right now.

Even with Doncic's heroics, the Blazers still had a chance to win late in the game. They fell short, but there were still promising aspects in the game from what Portland was able to accomplish. They should look at the film from the game and be able to take away a lot of positives.

Mixed Bag from the Spurs Game

If anyone is trying to challenge Doncic as the early MVP this season, it is Victor Wembanyama, who scored 29 points in just 24 minutes of action as the Spurs made quick work of the Blazers.

The Blazers were on the second night of a back-to-back and did not arrive back in Portland until 5 am after losing to the Lakers in Los Angeles. It wasn't the best start, but there is still some encouragement that the team could perform better after learning from this loss.

Blazers head coach Micah Nori wasn't thrilled with the team's effort against the Spurs, which was different from how the team acted in their first eight games of the season. However, as I mentioned before, it's a very long season. While the Blazers aren't on the same level of the top teams in the West, there is plenty of time and room for improvement.

The Blazers' tough stretch against Western Conference opponents continues when the team hosts the Oklahoma City Thunder for a pair of games at the Moda Center tomorrow and Wednesday. Fans can watch the next game on NBC or stream it on Peacock.