Portland Trailblazers talisman Damian Lillard has carried his form from the bubble last season to this season. Lillard has been electric on the court for the Blazers and he has single handedly at times kept them in the competitive phase. The 30-year old undoubtedly has been one of the best this season in the NBA.
He has kept the injury-plagued Blazers afloat in the Western Conference with a decent record of 18-11, The Blazers have missed two of their key players in Jusuf Nurkic and CJ McCollum but the heroics of Lillard have kept them very much in contention.
Therefore his impressive performances were lauded by ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst. In a recent episode of his podcast, Windhorst described Lillard’s terrific stats this season which he has achieved without the services of Nurkic and McCollum. He said “Since CJ McCollum went down, which was in mid- January and Dame has missed a game or two in there, but his stats, he is averaging in those games 32 points on 45% shooting.
“For him, he takes a lot of difficult shots, for example, he takes about 12 threes a game. He is shooting 93% from the line and he is averaging 4.3 rebounds and 9.1 assists a game and 1.1 steals, just incredible.
“Think about 32 points and 9 assists. Think about how many times he is throwing it to a guy who gets fouled. He is probably accounting for in the neighbourhood of 50 to 60 points per night that too without Nurkic who is missing through injury,” he went on adding.
“The guy is just an incredible performer. He is doing it again. His team is playing well, all things considered. It’s just a Dame Lillard appreciation moment here. The guy is amazing. He keeps doing it year after year and he is doing it again,” he concluded.
Lillard is not someone who is suddenly performing well in the NBA, he is a seasoned professional who has been the leader of the pack for the Trailblazers for some time now. He is considered as one of the best clutch as well as consistent players in the league. However despite the praise and all the appreciation the 30-year old has been overlooked in MVP discussions.
He is averaging a career-high 30.0 points, 7.9 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game. He is the league’s third-best scorer and has been pivotal in carrying the Blazers. Damian Lillard has always answered his critics and finally, he is getting the appreciation that he deserves.
