Damian Lillard and the Portland Blazers have had a rough season. First, All-Star shooting guard C.J. McCollum was diagnosed with a pneumothorax injury. In Lehman's terms, he had a collapsed lung. He has been out for over a month. They finally received some good news on that front as his lungs have reportedly healed. McCollum is expected to rejoin the team again soon. However, Blazers fans will have to take the good with the bad.
Blazers superstar point guard Damian Lillard had been dealing with an abdominal injury since the start of the season. That has cost him some playing time, as he has been in and out of the lineup.
According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, Lillard is set to have abdominal surgery in the near future.
Damian Lillard is planning to have surgery in the near future to address a lingering abdominal injury, sources told ESPN. The procedure isn't expected to be season-ending but that is to be determined.
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) January 12, 2022
Apparently, the surgery is not expected to cost Lillard the rest of the season, but that is yet to be determined. Knowing that the Portland Trail Blazers are 16-24 on the season, it might be wise to keep Lillard out of commission for a while.
They are currently the #10 seed and would just qualify for the play-in tournament. They are 3.5 games behind the Minnesota Timberwolves for the #9 seed. It's far more likely they drop in the standings. The San Antonio Spurs, Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans are all within 1.5 games of the Blazers.
Lillard has been having one of his worst seasons since early in his career. He is averaging 24 points per game, the lowest since 2014-2015. He is also shooting a career-low 40 percent as well.
UPDATE: According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, Damian Lillard will undergo surgery on Thursday. He will be re-evaluated in 6-8 weeks.
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