via Getty
DENVER, CO – FEBRUARY 23: Monte Morris (11) of the Denver Nuggets defends Damian Lillard (0) of the Portland Trail Blazers during the third quarter at Ball Arena on Tuesday, February 23, 2021. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
via Getty
DENVER, CO – FEBRUARY 23: Monte Morris (11) of the Denver Nuggets defends Damian Lillard (0) of the Portland Trail Blazers during the third quarter at Ball Arena on Tuesday, February 23, 2021. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
The Portland Trail Blazers are having one of their worst seasons in recent memory. Their Superstar point guard Damian Lillard is having one of the worst seasons of their career. He has been averaging a mediocre 24 PPG and he is shooting career lows in field goal percentage and three-point percentage. On top of that, he has missed a chunk of time due to injury.
Lillard is currently out due to lower abdominal tendinopathy and he recently underwent surgery on Jan 13. He is expected to be reevaluated in 6-8 weeks. Dame spoke to the media the first time after his surgery. Dame said “It was just one of those things where I’ve always had control over how I moved and everything, and it had reached a point where my body couldn’t do what my mind wanted it to do, and go places that I wanted it to go,”
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If asked if he would return if the Trailblazers are playing for a draft pick, he said it wouldn’t make sense for him to play. He answered “I mean, if we are going to play for a draft pick, it wouldn’t make sense for me … because I’m not going to play for no draft pick,”
NBA Twitter in Shambles over latest Damian Lillard update
The NBA fans weren’t pleased to hear the latest update over Damian Lillard. They had expected the Point Gaurd to return at some point this season. But they weren’t pleased learning that Dame might be done for the season. Here are some of the best reactions :
So now Dames team is tanking…..he's wasting his prime like Embiid and Beal
But maybe a chip isn't that important to him
— Ram Kay❼ (@RamKaY_) January 22, 2022
Damian Lillard
2017-18 36%
2018-19 37%
2019-20 40%
2020-21 39%
2021-22 31%— ryan (@burner_celtics) January 20, 2022
To answer your question, I said yrs ago stacking teams & tanking teams were going to ruin the NBA. It is just 3 or 4 teams have players falling all over them selves to get signed.
Calif has too many teams together.
Damian is so damn close to winning but 8 yrs later still waiting— blazerfan (@blazerfan) September 9, 2021
We suck. Would management acknowledge that and put the tanking plan in motion already?
— Edu Alves (@EduKanaan) December 22, 2021
We’re actually really good at tanking already thank you very much
— Gary Nance Jr, Professional Blazers Fan (@ShoozumOops) January 2, 2022
It’s time. @KingJames @Dame_Lillard it’s time for you guys to just trade yourselves to Dallas that’s a ring forsure
— Mundito HollaPenyo (@penyo_ave) January 15, 2022
His old ass should be thinking of leaving the blazers instead of them scrapping a season and bringing in more rookies to play with
— montymach 26 (@Michael07428376) January 22, 2022
I think that a high draft pick is Dames best chance of winning a chip and he’s a pretty intelligent guy who understands that…
— Jack Strang (@JackStrang13) January 22, 2022
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He’s a competitor through and through. Maybe he should have gotten surgery in the summer instead, but I think that Dame is the type of guy who only gets surgery when it’s evident that nothing else is gonna help. He probably wanted to try doing the cortisone shot first.
— Jack Strang (@JackStrang13) January 22, 2022
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With CJ McCollum also being out due to a collapsed lung, the Blazers have struggled mightily. They are currently in the 10th spot in the West with a record of 19-26. The Blazers have the second-worst-rated defense in the league. Chauncey Billups was got in to shore up their defense, but it seems they don’t have the personnel for it. They just can’t seem to spot opposing three-point shooters as they rank in the bottom of the league. With their two main scorers being out, they have struggled to create offense consistently. They will have a decision to make when Lillard returns. They either can get Dame back and try to make some moves in the market and compete with what they have. Or they will look to shut Lillard down for the season and hope for a high draft pick.
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