Is Damian Lillard playing tonight vs Denver Nuggets? Portland Blazers release abdominal injury report for MVP guard ahead of game vs Nikola Jokic and co

Damian Lillard has been sidelined for Portland Blazer’s Sunday night clash against Denver Nuggets with an abdominal injury. 

Currently stuck in eighth place in the Western Conference, Portland Blazers have endured a topsy-turvy start to their 2021/22 season. Damian Lillard was rumoured to be looking at the exit doors during pre-season, and while that controversy has been settled, the superstar guard looks far from his best self.

Lillard is averaging a mere 20 points per game, en route to his worst season since 2012/13 — his rookie season. Coupled with his career-low of a mere 38% FG, the Blazers smell trouble.

And things could get a lot worse for the Portland outfit ahead of their headline clash against Denver Nuggets.

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Lillard has been diagnosed with lower abdominal tendinopathy, ruling him out of the Nuggets game. The 31-year-old point guard has started all games this season, equating to about 35 minutes per game.

This is not the first time that he has been struck with this injury. In fact, Lillard spoke about it in length after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, saying, “I’ve played with it for a few years now so I’m kinda immune to it. I’ve played well, I’ve done a lot of things with it being irritated, but it’s irritating.”

An injury to Damian Lillard — a blessing in disguise for both him and Portland Blazers?

Despite being off to arguably the poorest start to a season in his career, Lillard has not shied away from taking responsibility. He is, in fact, still shooting every chance he gets. In the process, he has accumulated the 8th most field goal attempts in the league this season with 250.

But with him sidelined, it gives Chauncey Billups a chance to experiment with his tactics. 6′ 11″ centre Jusuf Nurkic has not been too involved offensively but could be extra motivated to lock horns against his former team, Denver Nuggets.

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Additionally, this injury could be exactly what Dame needs as well. Missing a few games might him the peace of mind and rest that has been clearly lacking so far this season. Maybe a chance to think his way around about the new NBA rules as well?