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USA Today via Reuters

USA Today via Reuters

Damian Lillard has established himself as one of the most clutch players in the NBA. Be it the playoffs or the regular season, Lillard has proved to be one of the most lethal players for the Trail Blazers in clutch time.

This regular season is no exception. Lillard has already scored winning shots in five games in the regular season, including a fabulous victory against the Bulls where he scored two three-pointers in the final 15 seconds.

He has carried the injury-laden Blazers to a record of 18 wins and 10 losses, even though they are missing key starters like CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic.

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NBA Analyst Skip Bayless believes Lillard is not the most clutch in the NBA

This recent hot streak by Lillard sparked a debate in the NBA community. In a recent episode of Undisputed, analyst Skip Bayless claimed that Dame is not clutch.

Skip said, “I will give you a real deal during the regular season. I will give you all time clutch during the regular season. I will not give you postseason because I haven’t seen nearly enough in the postseason. I will give you he’s hit two walk-offs in the postseason, that’s three total for his career.”

Bayless added, “There been way too many flameouts on this resume for me to say all-time clutch when it matters the most in the postseason because I’m going to ask anybody who loves Dame to go back and check me on these because they’re glaring in my eyes in the postseason.” 

This argument by Bayless seems rather absurd, given the number of times Lillard has bailed the Blazers out of multiple sticky situations.

Damian Lillard ridicules Skip Bayless’ comments

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The Blazers superstar recently responded to his critics through a tweet. When a fan asked how he felt about Bayless’ recent criticism, Dame tweeted, “Who cares.”

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Lillard seemed unfazed by Bayless’ comments, which is understandable since he has been averaging 29.8 points, 7.7 assists, and 4.4 rebounds per game. Without McCollum and Nurkic, Dame Dolla has averaged a career-high 32.1 points, 8.5 assists, and 4.2 rebounds while the supporting cast of Gary Trent Jr., Carmelo Anthony, and Enes Kanter have thrived as starters.

Dame’s recent performances have also resulted in his name popping up in the MVP conversation. Can Lillard lead the Blazers to a deep playoff run in a loaded Western Conference?