The Portland Trail Blazers continue a four-game homestand on Friday by welcoming the upstart Cleveland Cavaliers to Moda Center. The Blazers, 14-23, have been without Damian Lillard for the last two games as he continues managing pain and discomfort from abdominal tendinopathy. Will Portland's superstar point guard be back in the lineup against Cleveland?
Is Damian Lillard playing vs. Cavaliers
Lillard endured the worst slump of his career to begin the regular season, almost completely losing his touch from three while looking a half step slow off the bounce compared to years past. Following a frustrating loss to the Cavaliers on November 3rd in which he shot 10-of-27 from the field and committed multiple late-game gaffes, Lillard finally admitted that his longstanding core injury was affecting his play.
“I made a play in the first half going to the rim, and I braced myself against the contact and my abdominal just tightened up a little bit,” he said. “Came out after that, but it just tightened up a little bit on me.”
After Team USA took home gold at the Tokyo Olympics, reports emerged that Lillard—who'd been struggling on both ends in Japan—had been dealing with a core injury that left him less than 100 percent. He complained of his tender midsection on multiple occasions in 2020-21, too.
After a win over the Toronto Raptors on November 16th, Lillard opened up about the extent of his injury.
“It’s tight, irritated,” Lillard said. “It’s frustrating, but I’ve been playing with it for the last three-and-a-half, four seasons. It’s just frustrating. I’m ready to be playing in the prime of my career at 100 percent, and it’s frustrating to not be able to do that over the last three, four years.”
The Blazers announced on December 1st that Lillard, who sat out the second leg of his team's back-to-back against the Detroit Pistons 24 hours earlier, would miss at least 10 days due to injury management after an MRI confirmed his lower abdominal tendinopathy. Lillard returned two weeks later after missing five games, quickly reaching the elite level of play that had largely eluded him before sitting out.
“I felt pretty good, better than I’ve felt in a long time,” he said on December 12th following a hard-fought loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. “I felt significantly better.”
Lillard's dominant play and time back on the court didn't last long, though. Just as his teammates began to return from health-and-safety protocols, Portland announced on January 5th that Lillard would miss at least a week while seeking further consultation on his injury. He's scheduled to be re-evaluated next week.
Is Lillard playing on Friday against the Cavaliers? Unfortunately for Portland, the answer is no.
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