SAN ANTONIO -- You hear all that junk Tim Duncan talked about the Trail Blazers after the Spurs gave them a back-alley whipping in Game 1?

Duncan said: "That's a good team over there, they'll play better."

Just wait until LaMarcus Aldridge gets a load of that.

But while waiting, let's drop the notion that the Spurs are a bunch of polite, well-groomed, sportsmanlike gentlemen. Turns out, they probably really do pull their cars over and help elderly women cross the street. But it also turns out one of the Blazers biggest issues is that they're struggling right now to take this match-up with San Antonio personally.

The Rockets made this soooo much easier. James Harden walked around like his beard didn't stink. Dwight Howard ran his mouth. Patrick Beverley played the role of villain beautifully, dogging Damian Lillard all over the arena. The Blazers even drew Developmental League call-up Troy Daniels into the act, manufacturing a made-up beef between the sharpshooter and veteran Mo Williams.

You hated the Rockets. I hated the Rockets.

More importantly, the Blazers played as if they wished them dead. And therein lies a key problem for Portland today, because they openly and obviously like and respect the Spurs. So much so that this series doesn't feel personal at all.

Blazers forward Nic Batum had dinner on the eve of Game 1 with his friend, Tony Parker. Also, Lillard and Parker spent the run-up to the series in a public love-fest with each other. Also, Aldridge announced he idolized the 38-year old Duncan while growing up.

That stuff has to stop right now.

Lillard showed up at Wednesday's practice, trailing 0-1 in this series, and as a bonus, with a fat lip he received in Game 1. A French reporter leaned in and asked the All-Star point guard, "How much did you admire Tony Parker's game as a kid?"

I braced for more love. Instead, Lillard looked at the guy like he wanted to feed him his recording device and said, "I'm done with that." His best play of the series yet, I think. This opened the door for a more in-depth discussion about what is clearly and obviously plaguing the Blazers as their No. 1 issue right now.

Its not pick-and-roll defense.

It's not playoff experience.

Rather, their biggest weakness is the appreciation they have for the Spurs.

"I don't even think it's because of what they say," said Lillard. "I think you have so much respect for what they've been able to accomplish, the type of guys they are, when you've got a challenge and people are saying stuff in the media like the Rockets, it lights a fire under you, and there's more anger put into that.

"We've got to find a way to light a fire under ourselves because they want to kill us. They can say positive things about us, and we feel the same way about them, but we've got to find a way to cancel that out. They didn't say nice things last night, they came to kill us."

Now -- this -- is progress, people.

Recognizing that your smiling, grinning, hugging friend wants nothing more than to drive a shank between your ribs is valuable information. The Blazers were lulled into this series, and arrived expecting a hug. They got a submission hold instead.

Even the Spurs' owner, Peter Holt, joined the act. He laughed it up with Blazers' owner Paul Allen before the game. Then, he sat back and watched the dismantling.

The Blazers should watch film, they should work on neutralizing the Spurs tendency to attack their weak-side defense. They must focus on limiting Parker's penetration, and doing a better job helping Lillard on screens. But first and foremost they have to stop idolizing the Spurs and make this series personal or its going to be over in four games.

This is going to be difficult task with San Antonio. Some of it may have to be manufactured by Williams and Co. It's not that the Spurs are more polite than the average American. It's that they're masters at this game. This is what they do. They smile. They slap backs. They pick up the tab at dinner. But in and around that, they cut you to shreds with their scalpels, grinning with every slice.

Newsflash: San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich can be mean, and biting --- to the media, that is. He said Wednesday, "Game plans are something you don't discuss with the media because you guys don't know what the hell you're talking about."

See? Not such a nice guy sometimes. He motivates. I'd play Pop 1-on-1 right now. But when he talks about the Blazers, Popovich is careful to offer them zero incentive, no motivation, and in fact, Popovich has already gone way out of his way to assure Portland that it's doing just fine.

"It was just one of those nights," Popovich said after Game 1. "They will play a whole lot better in Game 2, without a doubt. They will make more shots."

I half expected he'd finish with, "Their eyes are getting sleepy... and a little sleepier..."

Terry Stotts has a problem here. He's charged with not only game-planning for the four-time world champions, but also trying to remind his team that the Spurs are pack of crazed maniacs who want to remove the Blazers spleens using a smile.

"We need to have a healthy respect but it's better when you don't let that affect your disposition," Stotts said. "I thought our disposition against Houston was edgy and it was part of why we won the series. You can respect their players and coaches, but in the end you have to want to kick their a--."

--- @JohnCanzanoBFT

