Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts isn't surprised star point guard Damian Lillard is playing through a rib injury and kept the ailment to himself before it was leaked by reporters after Game 3.
Stotts says it's “typical” of Lillard to play through injuries, something the Blazers guard has done his entire NBA career.
Terry Stotts on Damian Lillard playing through rib injury. #Warriors #Blazers pic.twitter.com/vdt0HvXduw
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) May 20, 2019
Lillard suffered the rib injury in Game 2 at Oracle Arena. The Golden State Warriors have been doing a great job guarding Lillard in this series, but it's clear the Blazers star hasn't been himself since Game 2.
The Blazers are down 0-3 in the series. Lillard is averaging 20.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists through the first three games of the Conference Finals while shooting 32.6 percent from the field, 38.5 percent from beyond the arc and 87.5 percent from the free-throw line.
Lillard is a no excuse guy. He's not going to point to the rib injury as the reason he's struggling to shoot the ball against the Warriors. But any doctor or player will tell you it's hard to shoot when you have separated ribs. It's unfortunate for the Blazers their best player had to get hurt at the worst possible time.
Hopefully, the Blazers come out swinging in Game 4 and win it for Lillard.
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