As the Portland Trail Blazers departed the Moda Center Tuesday night, with another humbling defeat in the rearview mirror, they were about to enter a 24-hour period in which they could vent, complain, whine, yell and cope in whatever way they saw fit.

But once that time expired, it was back to business.

"They call that the 24-hour rule," Tim Frazier, the former Blazers guard, said Tuesday night. "You can be upset until the clock hits 12 the next day and then you move on to the next game."

Frazier played parts of two seasons with the Blazers, including most of 2015-16, when the Blazers hem and hawed for three months until catching fire in January and streaking toward the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. He played alongside eight of the current Blazers players -- and for the entire coaching staff -- that season, so he has intimate knowledge on how the Blazers navigate tough times. And it's safe to say these are tough times.

For the third consecutive season, the Blazers (13-11) are entering a meaty December schedule saddled by disappointing results. Their offense, which ranks 22nd in offensive rating, ranks last in the NBA in assists (18.2 per game), assist percentage (48.6) and fast-break points (4.1 per game) and third-to-last in shooting (43.9 percent) and effective field goal percentage (49.2). CJ McCollum is mired in a four-game shooting slump, Jusuf Nurkic continues to miss close shots and cough up turnovers and coach Terry Stotts is changing starting lineups and rotations at a dizzying rate, in part because of injuries, but also because the majority of his roster has been maddeningly inconsistent.

All seemed to be trending upward when the Blazers returned to Portland following a successful 4-1 Thanksgiving trip. But that momentum dissolved in an instant amid a three-game losing streak in which the Blazers trailed by at least 19 points in losses to the Milwaukee Bucks, New Orleans Pelicans and Washington Wizards. Losing the Bucks after a nine-day trip is hardly alarming. But falling to the Pelicans without Anthony Davis and the Wizards without John Wall -- just one night after they were humiliated in a 47-point defeat at the Utah Jazz -- is disheartening.

At some point you have to wonder: Are the Blazers just navigating an inevitable tough stretch in a monster 82-game season? Or is this just who they are?

"I think it's a fair question," Stotts said. "I don't think we're playing well. I think we've shown that we can play better, with basically the same group of people, last year. We know that we can play better. So I think the answer today is that we're not playing well."

And, today, the Blazers were allowed to cope with this their own way as part of that "24-hour rule."

But what will things be like afterward? What will Thursday's practice look like? The Blazers have overcome rebuilding and losing the last two seasons to catch fire at just the right time and reach the playoffs in inspiring fashion. How have they been so resilient?

"They've got great leaders," said Frazier, who now plays for the Wizards. "Dame is resilient. CJ as well. They don't get too high, they don't' get too low. It's a long, 82-game season, and they just continue to work and get better and block out the outside noise. Dame really does a tremendous job of getting those guys riled up to understand that it's never over and all these games count."

Frazier, who went through his fair share of losing streaks and emotional stretches in Portland, has unique perspective on how the Blazers will work to overcome their struggles. He said Thursday's practice would be a "grind."

"I know practice tomorrow will be tough," he said. "Coach Stotts will have them grilled in with film work and make them look at what's going on honestly and critically."

Frazier said he imagined that meetings will be sincere and candid. He hasn't been in the Blazers' locker room for two seasons, so Frazier didn't pretend to know the details of the discussion. But he said that Lillard, as the Blazers' captain, fosters an open forum in which everyone can speak honestly and earnestly, no matter their role, and he wouldn't be surprised for a heartfelt talk. He remembers a time two seasons ago when Chris Kaman, even though he was rarely playing, interjected during a meeting to "get some things off his chest."

"One thing about Dame and CJ and those other guys, they let other guys speak," Frazier said. "If you have something on your mind, you know you can speak. Ed (Davis), Chief, Moe (Harkless), all those guys; they're able to speak up and say some stuff if they need to get something off their chest. And sometimes that's good for you. I know it happened with us when I was there. Guys stepped up when they had some things to say and we kind of just went off because of it. Sometimes it takes a team meeting, sometimes it takes a player meeting. But usually it just takes coach Stotts continuing to do what he's been doing."

The Blazers talked Tuesday night about embracing a little "swagger." About looking and acting like they were the fourth seed in the West.

The Blazers have said they're not worried about their struggles. Well, Frazier isn't either.

"I think it's a lot of up-and-down, a lot of their guys are up-and-down," Frazier said. "I think they're still trying to find their way. I think their guys are still trying to find their roles and they're going to need some other guys to step up and play big for them.

"Sometimes you've got to just fight through it and that's what they're going to do. They're going to fight through it. They're going to be fine. It's a long season. They've got great leaders that are going to lead them in the right direction."

Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman