TUALATIN -- Damian Lillard is setting his sights high for the Portland Trail Blazers' season.

In a story published on ESPN.com on Monday, Lillard said he wants his team to aim for a spot in the Western Conference Finals. After Blazers' practice on Tuesday, Lillard reiterated those goals.

"It's a lot of tough teams in the West," Lillard said. "It's not like, 'Oh we can go right up in there and it's going to be easy.' But I feel like we're one of the teams that's right there in the mix. Obviously, you've got teams like Golden State and San Antonio, the teams that everybody talks about. Obviously, they'll be good, but I feel like we could jump right up there and get in the mix with them."

The Blazers have made the second round of the playoffs twice in Lillard's four-year career. But the franchise hasn't reached the Conference Finals since 2000. Heading into the regular season, Blazers coach Terry Stotts wants his team thinking big.

"I told our team I like that," Stotts said. "I want us to have aspirations of what we can do this year. Just like last year. We had aspirations last year and I think we fulfilled those for the most part. You need to have those aspirations. You need to want to win a conference championship or an NBA championship."

In October nearly every team in the league thinks it can reach the conference finals and compete for a title. It's only a realistic goal for a handful franchises every year. When Lillard surveys the Western Conference he considers the Blazers to be part of that select group.

"I feel like we have enough pieces on our team that if everybody puts their best foot forward and we bring how I think we can bring it, I think it's possible," Lillard said. "I think the Western Conference is going through one of those changes when you have so many guys going away and things changing (that) there's room for us to get up in there, get into the mix."

--Mike Richman

mrichman@oregonian.com

@mikegrich