Damian Lillard's struggles to blame for Blazers' 3-0 deficit

There's a very simple explanation for why the Portland Trail Blazers are trailing 3-0 to the New Orleans Pelicans.

Damian Lillard is not playing like the superstar he claims to be, and the Blazers simply need more from their leading man. Not only is Lillard shooting just 33 percent from the field, but he has more turnovers than assists, and he continues to be a sieve on defense.

Worse yet, Lillard sounded broken after a 17-point loss in Game 3 and was searching for answers. After shooting just 5-of-14 from the field with eight turnovers on Thursday, Lillard admitted to being overwhelmed.

"They're making me give the ball up ... It's two or three layers of defense so it's tough to play against," a deflated Lillard told reporters.

Give full credit to the Pelicans for executing their scheme to great success. The likes of Jrue Holiday, Rajon Rondo, and Anthony Davis have combined to firmly trap Lillard behind the 3-point line. Holiday and Rondo are as tough as they come on the perimeter, and Davis is a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, so Lillard has plenty on his plate.

However, that doesn't excuse Lillard from his inability to make adjustments. He failed to generate open looks for his teammates when faced with double teams, he has not been aggressive enough in getting to the basket, and he is hurting his team by launching bad shots.

The Pelicans' strong defense also doesn't excuse Lillard from not playing any of his own. Holiday is averaging 23.3 points per game on 53 percent shooting, although much of that has come against C.J. McCollum as the Blazers resorted to hiding Lillard on Rondo.

Except, that hasn't worked either, as Rondo has inexplicably burned the Blazers for 12.7 points on 50 percent shooting. Lillard has opted to play free safety, but that strategy came back to burn them at the end of Game 2 as Rondo canned a wide-open look to seal the result.

Lillard likes to clamor for more respect, he loves to trumpet his own case for MVP, but his reputation will be shaped by his postseason success or lack thereof. He's shooting 38.4 percent from the field in the playoffs over his last four seasons, he's advanced no further than the second round, and he's about to hit rock bottom with a series sweep.