A lack of early aggression and an “alpha” player to set the tone.

These are just a couple of the reasons, once again, the Portland Trail Blazers began a game slowly and suffered a loss, according to coach Chauncey Billups.

This time the defeat came 118-117 at home against the Washington Wizards, one of the worst teams in the NBA. Granted, the Blazers clearly aren’t much better, but they will never become good until they learn to avoid slow starts that lead to playing catchup.

The Blazers shot 37% in the first quarter against the Wizards while going 1 of 7 on 3-pointers. They committed five turnovers, trailed by as many as 16 points and ultimately were down 33-24 heading into the second quarter.

“Terrible,” Billups said. “We talked about it all day. We tried to prepare the guys for the pace, knowing the pace that they play is difficult. They get up and down and run. They’ve got a team full of shooters. We tried to prepare our team for it and they still came out and punched us in the mouth, which was disappointing.”

The Blazers spent the rest of the game attempting to reel in the Wizards and finally did in the fourth quarter, which they won 37-25. But it wasn’t enough. Jerami Grant had a chance to win the game on its final play, but his running hook at the buzzer banged harmlessly off the backboard.

Part of the problem with the team’s early offense, Billups said after the game, is that the team lacks an “alpha-type dude.”

“We’ve got some good players and some guys that are going to be All-Stars in this league,” Billups said. “But right now, we don’t have that dude that you can just throw it to and he can just kind of get us going for the first four or five minutes of the game. We just don’t have that. So, we’ve got to do it collectively.”

That “alpha” player for the Blazers was Damian Lillard for the better part of his 11 seasons in Rip City. He was traded to Milwaukee prior to training camp and the Blazers entered the season eager to see who might grow into that role.

Anfernee Simons, who scored 41 points against the Wizards, has the potential. Grant, 29, is the oldest regular starter. Malcolm Brogdon, 31, is the most experienced player on the team. Shaedon Sharpe, 20, and rookie Scoot Henderson, 19, are too young and lack the juice to lead at this point in their careers.

None of the above have been All-Stars or the top player on a winning team. The types of alpha players Billups was referring to have rolled through the Moda Center recently. Dallas’ Luka Doncic, Phoenix’s Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, and Golden State’s Stephen Curry are examples of proven, All-Star, dominant players their teams can largely rely on to set the tone.

Simons, 24, who has made 106 career starts, is averaging a career-best 27.1 points per game in nine starts this season. But Simons is far from having established himself as a franchise player. Although he has grown as a leader, he has a ways to go in that area as well.

On Thursday, Simons said he typically enters games trying to read the game and see what the team needs. Against the Wizards, however, he came out firing, making 4 of 8 shots for eight points. “I feel like today I was trying a little bit to get us going,” Simons said.

Lillard, in addition to his ability to dominate a game and carry a team, also operated as the Blazers’ vocal and unquestioned leader. The Blazers miss that right now.

Grant recently described the team as being relatively quiet and lacking big voices. Billups said the team is very “cool,” meaning that they ease their way into games before getting fired up.

Those realities contribute to the team’s slow starts, Billups said.

“Just trying to figure out a way to get everybody, at least the starters, riled up at the beginning of the game to get off to a good start,” Simons said.

The Blazers had found some silver linings during defeats at the hands of far superior teams by not quitting and fighting their way back. But doing the same thing against one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA that entered the game with four victories presented the opposite feeling.

At the same time, the Blazers (7-20) must play at a high level for them to even be in most games let alone to win them, regardless of the opponent.

“We’re not good enough to think that we can beat anybody,” Billups said. “We haven’t proven that at all. So, I just wish that we could come out with the mindset of just stopping people. And then we worry about the offense whenever it comes. But it just didn’t happen. … That’s a focus thing. …”