Damian Lillard is going to have to come up with yet another tremendous showing for the Blazers to make the postseason this year.
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The Portland Trail Blazers are among the most ineptly managed front offices in the NBA today. Evidence of this becomes clear every time the offseason arrives and the free agency window opens.
The best players that Lillard has played alongside are all now on other teams. He had LaMarcus Aldridge and a firing Nicolas Batum alongside him at the start of his career.
For a spell after that, he’s had the support of CJ McCollum, who won MIP honors in his third season. But apart from Jusuf Nurkic for a while, there hasn’t been any 80th-percentile player on his squad.
Lillard has mostly had to play a lone hand throughout his career, leading the Blazers to the playoffs in a series of unlikely late-season rallies every year. He doesn’t shirk from the burden, but it probably weighs heavy on him.
Most seasons with 200+ 3-point field goals made in NBA history 👀
💦 Stephen Curry (10 seasons)
💦 Klay Thompson (8 seasons)
💦 Damian Lillard (8 seasons)
💦 James Harden (6 seasons) pic.twitter.com/NJ8RunyoRw— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) March 10, 2023
Also Read – “Motherf**kers Don’t Bounce To Your Drum”: Damian Lillard Fed Up With ‘Loyalty’ Memes
Is Damian Lillard playing tonight vs Sixers?
The Blazers visit Philadelphia for their only trip of the year to the East Coast city. Embiid powered the Sixers to an easy win in their previous meeting.
Damian Lillard will be available for the Blazers barring any injuries suffered during pre-game warmups. He may, however, have to deal with the absence of Anfernee Simons, who’s developed well for the team in a starting role.
INJURY REPORT 3/10 @trailblazers @ PHI:
OUT
Arcidiacono (Lower Back Soreness)
Badji (L Knee Surgery Recovery)
Butler Jr. (G League Two-Way)
Winslow (L Ankle Sprain)QUESTIONABLE
Simons (R Ankle Sprain)— Trail Blazers PR (@TrailBlazersPR) March 9, 2023
Currently 13th in the Western Conference, Portland are only 1 game behind the 9th-seeded Lakers. They will need to get their act together down the home stretch of the regular season to make the playoffs.
Dame’s stats this year
Lillard is enjoying a career year this time around, and has been especially lethal in the calendar year 2023. He ranks 3rd in scoring average at 32.3 points per game this season.
He ranks 2nd in the NBA among guards for true shooting percentage this year behind Steph. There’s a good chance for him to go on and win the scoring title with a late surge.
