The Portland Trail Blazers snatched a three-point win against the Milwaukee Bucks in a major upset at Fiserv Forum on Saturday night. After the tough loss against his former team, Damian Lillard shared a cryptic picture on his social media that could be a reference to his team’s recent form.
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Lillard shared an image of two full glasses of water with the caption, “There are two kinds of people.” In one of the glasses, there’s a man lying calmly with his hands behind his head at the surface of the water. On the other hand, the man in the other glass is struggling to stay afloat.
Dame after yet another Bucks loss pic.twitter.com/DbdMcPz4f3
— tragicpatek (@tragicpatek) January 5, 2025
The level of water in both glasses are the same, suggesting that one’s reaction to hardship is what makes the difference. Even if the Bucks are in deep waters, Lillard likely wants to remain calm and collected as they regain their footing in the Eastern Conference, instead of panicking and reducing their own chances of survival.
Of course, the post could be related to a personal, off-court matter, but given how the home game against Portland winded down, we have reasons to believe that Lillard is referring to his own performances.
With 23 seconds on the clock, Anfernee Simons converted an and-one play to put the Trail Blazers up by one. However, instead of running down the clock and taking the final shot of the game, Dame inexcusably threw the ball out of bounds with 8 seconds remaining.
This forced the Bucks into fouling Portland as they retained possession of the ball. Lillard’s mentee, Simons, calmly knocked down the clutch free-throws but Milwaukee still had 5 seconds to get the final shot off. Of course, it would be Dame with the ball in his hand as Doc Rivers looked for a game-tying three-pointer. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t materialize.
Whether it’s that late-game pressure he was referring to or the pressure of the championship expectations on Milwaukee, Lillard’s post makes it clear that he wants to remain composed moving forward. His post-game interview reflected that too.
“When I stepped back, I probably should have shot it. I tried to hit Bobby [Portis]. He thought I was going to shoot, so he crashed. Ended up being a turnover,” the 34-year-old said about his late-game turnover.
He was also disappointed about the Bucks’ recent run of losses against lottery teams. Since winning the NBA Cup three weeks ago, Milwaukee holds a 3-5 record. This includes some unexpected losses against bottom-seeded teams like the Nets, Bulls and now, the Trail Blazers.
Lillard attributed these outcomes to the Bucks’ lack of energy, explaining that younger teams are simply out-hustling them. After last night’s loss, his head coach resonated the same arguments.
“It’s frustrating watching us play…We’re not playing right and it’s on both ends. Defensively, we’re getting beat off the dribble over and over again, getting beat on the glass. Offensively, I don’t see us playing with much pace,” Doc Rivers said after the loss.
The Bucks’ season has seen more than its fair share of ups and downs. They began the year with a dismal 1-6 record, but quickly turned things around by winning 13 of their next 16 games, including the NBA Cup Final against title contenders, OKC Thunder. Now, they face another losing skid as they are 1-4 over their las five games.
Perhaps, Lillard’s stoic post can instill some stability in the Milwaukee camp.
