Portland Trail Blazers All-Star Damian Lillard didn’t hold back as he blames himself for his team's recent losing streak in this crucial stretch of the season.
Lillard, who hasn't been the same since suffering a hamstring injury mid-April, said he hasn’t played well enough. True enough, the Blazers have dropped to seventh in the Western Conference standings and have lost five straight games.
Damian Lillard: "I'm not playing well enough. I'm on the floor because that gives our team the best chance to win, and I've got to be better."
— Sean Highkin (@highkin) April 25, 2021
Damian Lillard, who was in the MVP conversation early this season, has indeed been subpar over the past couple of games. He scored 23 points and had six rebounds and five assists in Sunday’s loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. While it’s easy to say that these are actually good numbers for any player, for Lillard it isn't at all.
The main problem of the Blazers over the past couple of games is that they can’t seem to finish strong.
The Blazers are now tied in the loss column with the Grizzlies, who are also vying for a play-in tournament spot. It also doesn’t help that the Grizz now have the tie-breaker between them and Portland, which could end up becoming a huge deal towards the last part of the season.
To make things worse, the Blazers have arguably the toughest remaining schedule ahead of them. If they want to continue to be in contention for at least a play-in tournament spot, they have to defeat the Indiana Pacers, Grizzlies (again!), Brooklyn Nets, Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks in the next coming days. Hopefully Lillard gets his legs back and channels “Dame Time” to close out the season stronger for Portland.
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