Damian Lillard is proud of what the Portland Trail Blazers accomplished this season, despite going out of the playoffs by means of a sweep for the third straight year. The Blazers handed the Oklahoma City Thunder a gentlemen's sweep, clawed their way to a Game 7 win against the Denver Nuggets and gave the Golden State Warriors a real scare in the last three games of their Western Conference Finals.
This all gave Lillard and company a lot to reflect on:
“Look at what we did this year,” Lillard told Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. “We played without our starting center [Jusuf Nurkic, who suffered a season-ending leg injury]. We played without CJ [McCollum] toward the end of the season. So, looking at that, we were still able to get here. We were one step away [from the Finals]. And not only here, we had double-digit leads in three of the four games. I think getting here is reassuring that we can get the job done.”
The Western Conference is expected to look a lot different next season, yet Lillard maintains that keeping this core together will help the Blazers in the long run:
“We just have to continue to improve with the guys we have,” said Lillard. “And then if it presents itself where we can get some guys in that can maybe take us to the next level, then look at that. I think that’s all we can do.”
“We’re one step away from the Finals, and I see it’s the maturity and understanding how steady you have to be. We played great in spurts. We had four great first halves. But those moments where we kind of let up and relaxed and we stopped doing the things that gave us that lead and they pounced on us because they don’t change the way they play. They just keep going, keep doing the same stuff. They overtook every game that way.”
The Blazers will now have a much-needed asset to go further into the postseason: Experience.
Lillard is expected to sign a four-year, $191 million supermax extension in the offseason as the team's franchise player. That should prove a solid starting point.
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