Damian Lillard says that the Portland TrailBlazers have a great chance to win the 2021 NBA championship as the 6th seed.
The Portland TrailBlazers, against all odds, managed to pull through yet another injury riddled season and did so because of yet another incredible offensive season from Damian Lillard. The All-NBA guard carried the Blazers on his back throughout the season with CJ McCollum, and Jusuf Nurkic sidelined for a chunk of the season.
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The Blazers have been on the precipice of being a legitimate title contender for a few seasons; a few analysts such as Charles Barkley bought an inordinate amount of RipCity stock in terms of Playoff success.
Unfortunately, due to a combination of a lack of postseason experience and badly timed injuries to key players, the Blazers have never been able to get over that hump. With the NBA having shifted from the typical ‘one superstar and a great team surrounding that superstar’ mold of squads, having Damian Lillard as the sole All-NBA talent on the roster will generally result in a postseason flameout.
Damian Lillard believes the Blazers can make a run to the NBA Finals this season.
In a recent article for the Athletic’s Jason Quick, Damian Lillard opened up about Portland’s championship aspirations for this season and by the looks of it, seemed awfully optimistic about their chances in the loaded Western Conference.
“Some people might look at it like, ‘Oh they can’t do that’ or ‘they don’t have a team’, and regardless of what the truth is, my mind is on the fact that we can do it. If everybody thinks that and everybody believes that, that’s when it happens. That’s when it can be done.”
“People who have won in the past, players and coaches I’ve spoken to over the last few weeks say the same thing: You can lead a team to get it done, but, everybody has to believe it, and you really have to push that.”
Also read: NBA Play in Tournament Rules: Is the NBA Play in Tournament a 7 game series?
Damian Lillard has been lauded as being one of the best leaders in the NBA, alongside the likes of Chris Paul. This excerpt from Quick’s article proves just that as looking at it from one of Dame’s teammate’s perspective; this would light a fire within them.
The Blazers are currently matched up against a Murray-less Denver Nuggets team in the 1st round of the Playoffs which is, quite frankly, a very winnable series despite the Mile High City boasting the probably 2021 league MVP in Nikola Jokic. Damian Lillard and the Blazers are currently a +4000 to win it all, and if they were to do, would make them perhaps the greatest story in the history of the NBA.
