Damian Lillard paid some respect to the Golden State Warriors after they bounced his Portland Trail Blazers from the playoffs in sweeping fashion.
The Rip City star posted a team picture on Instagram, looking back to a long season that saw them overcome plenty of obstacles, but eventually running into a juggernaut in the playoffs:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bxtx6rBgBSj/
The Warriors bottled up Lillard during their four games this series, a concentrated effort to make role players beat them instead of the star backcourt comprised of Lillard and McCollum.
While it's a surefire strategy, it's very difficult to execute, as neither the Oklahoma City Thunder nor the Denver Nuggets were able to do so successfully.
Dame and company often spoke about the layers of defense the Warriors had in store for the Blazers, each time giving them a much different look than the last.
Lillard had one of his most complete seasons, averaging 25.8 points and a career-high 6.9 assists per game, all while elevating his game in the postseason and hitting what's likely to go down as one of the most memorable shots of his NBA career to send the Thunder home in the first round.
The Blazers won 53 games this season and mustered the third seed for a second straight season, putting themselves among the four best teams in the NBA. As Lillard sees it, that's nothing to be ashamed about.
Follow Us
Subscribe