The Portland Trail Blazers and their superstar leader and point guard Damian Lillard are trending in different directions. Following a procedure to address a nagging abdominal injury that had reportedly been bothering him for several years, Dame came back better than ever.
The springs in his legs are back, his first step is as lethal as it was when he first entered the NBA, and his effortless touch from beyond the arc is as consistent as ever.
And yet, despite his improved play, the Portland Trail Blazers currently find themselves in the basement of the Western Conference, struggling to keep themselves in the Play-In Tournament race at just 31-38, good for the 13th seed.
Click the image for live odds
While many other players in a similar situation would be accused of stat-padding and record-chasing, Lillard and the Blazers have made it abundantly clear that they’re not purposefully tanking in order to guarantee themselves better chances at a high draft pick; they’re just not a very good team. Outside of Lillard, there’s blame to be had up and down the entire organization.
Newly minted General Manager Joe Cronin has done a poor job of surrounding Dame with a viable roster to compete for a championship. Portland is now a year-and-a-half into Cronin’s administration, and the team doesn’t look any better than it did under previous leadership Neil Olshey.
In fact, they might be worse off. Head Coach Chauncey Billups 58-93 in his young coaching career, despite inheriting a generational talent in Dame. Lillard’s second, third, and fourth options in Anfernee Simons, Jerami Grant, and Jusuf Nurkic have all missed staggered segments throughout the 2022-2023 season.
| Last 3 Games | Scores |
|---|---|
 vs  | L 126-112 | vs  | L 123-107 |
vs  | L 120-119 |
Despite all of the pitfalls surrounding him, Dame has made it undeniably clear that he’s still one of the greatest players in the league and in the sport’s history in general.
At the time of writing, he’s putting up an absurd 32.3 points per game, good for third in the NBA behind only the Philadelphia 76ers’s Joel Embiid and the Dallas Mavericks’s Luka Doncic. He’s also doing so at a career-high level of efficiency.
He’s shooting better from the field at 46.5 percent than he ever has, and is also shooting better from beyond the arc than in any other season aside from his sophomore year.
There’s a pretty good chance that Lillard could wind up as this season’s scoring leader, while the Portland Trail Blazers wind up back in the draft lottery. With Dame turning 33 years old this summer, the Blazers must act fast to capitalize on the remainder of his prime.
Damian Lillard Next Game
vs
71 PTS, 13 3PM, 6 REB, 6 AST…
Damian Lillard, everyone š pic.twitter.com/3bHwHXEonI
— NBA (@NBA) February 27, 2023
The Handicapper911 simulation model, which simulates every NBA game thousandsā of times, up over 150 units over the last three years. A $100 bettor of our NCAAB would have netted a profit of $15,000+ and, a $1,000 bettor would have won $150,000+. We offer picks on NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, XFL, PGA Golf and NCAA Basketball and Football. Now is the time to sign-up, get all the picks, and start winning.
| Title: The Portland Trail Blazers are wasting Damian Lillard’s historic scoring run
| Author: Andy Quach
| Date: Mar 18, 2023
