Damian Lillard Articles - Page 36

The Portland Trail Blazers’ immediate focus once the regular season mercifully comes to a close on Sunday will be the NBA draft. Locked into the league’s sixth-highest lottery odds, Portland is guaranteed a top-10 pick and could net a second lottery selection if the New Orleans Pelicans are ousted from the play-in tournament. But with […]

The Portland Trail Blazers have yet to rediscover their old form as they currently sit at the 13th spot of the Western Conference with a 27-51 record. With the playoffs already out of reach, they are already looking forward to the next season where they will aim to get back into their winning ways. Portland’s […]

Damian Lillard might be recuperating from a surgery, but the Portland Trail Blazers star is certainly having fun off the court. Lillard has been supporting his team from the sidelines, cheering them on and giving them advice. One fan, however, tried to see if he could get Lillard to react to a challenge of his. […]

Damian Lillard is one of the most exciting players to watch in the NBA today. The Portland Trail Blazers point guard can light it up in an incendiary second and hit the game-winner to cap it all of. But the Blazers star is also still a fan of the game himself. On a recent appearance […]

Damian Lillard has been through it all in his career. He’s been through the ups and the downs and he’s stood strong all throughout. Another player that is in the midst of a whirlwind of criticism at this point in his career is none other than Los Angeles Lakers superstar Russell Westbrook. If you were […]

The Portland Trail Blazers are bound to look much different when Damian Lillard returns from the longest absence of his career for the 2022-23 season opener. Unfortunately for the best player in franchise history, though, the re-tooled Blazers also won’t be as talented or experienced as the now-defunct team he left after the New Year, either. So […]

When Damian Lillard returns to the Portland Trail Blazers next season, he’ll be met by a way different team compared to what he started this 2021-22. The Rip City squad started a major overhaul by trading a few key players in order to acquire assets and potentially speed up rebuilding their roster around Dame. Despite […]

The Portland Trail Blazers had lots of pressure to perform well this season with Damian Lillard. It has gone very poorly, though it has a lot to do with Lillard’s extended absence. Lillard has played just 29 games this season and has been sidelined with an abdominal strain since December. His injury has left the […]

Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard has endured a tough season. Lillard started off the year with some uncharacteristically shaky shooting performances, upon which it was revealed that he was playing through an abdominal injury, which ultimately required surgery. There was hope that the Blazers star would return for this season, though the team recently […]

The Portland Trail Blazers are currently a team that just about no one recognizes due to the departure of CJ McCollum and Norman Powell, while Damian Lillard is sidelined due to injury. But, it shouldn’t be like that for long as the organization plans to bring in a few big pieces this offseason, with one […]

The Portland Trail Blazers had a key decision to make regarding star point guard Damian Lillard. Lillard has not featured in a single game in 2022 after having undergone abdominal surgery in early January. With just 12 games left on the docket for the Trail Blazers, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Monday that the superstar point […]

After losing five of their last six games, the Los Angeles Lakers earned a much-needed win Friday night. Down three with seconds left, Russell Westbrook made a three-pointer to force overtime against the Toronto Raptors. Tie it at the buzzer? Why Not? pic.twitter.com/q50pxcP9F8 — Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) March 19, 2022 The clutch three broke […]

The last time Anfernee Simons took the floor was the last time the Portland Trail Blazers actually looked like they belong in the NBA. That’s not a criticism of the second-round picks, undrafted free agents and G-League call-ups who have comprised Portland’s woefully depleted roster over the last few days, or even an aspersion on […]

Officially, the Portland Trail Blazers are still leaving the door open for Damian Lillard to return before season’s end. The team announced late last month that Lillard had passed the “initial phase” of rehabilitation from mid-January surgery on his abdomen, and would soon begin the “reconditioning phase” of his recovery. The first week of March […]

The Portland Trail Blazers entered their two-game set with the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center one-and-a-half games back of the final spot in the Western Conference play-in tournament. Portland would be underdogs no matter what with Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic sidelined, but at least Minnesota’s absences—Anthony Edwards and Patrick Beverly missed Saturday’s game—ensured it […]

The Portland Trail Blazers are one of the more stable playoff teams in the NBA. Well, at least, they were up until this season. The Blazers entered 2021-22 having made the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest active streak in the NBA. But they traded away C.J. McCollum, Norman Powell and other key contributors […]

The New Orleans Pelicans are slowly creeping up the standings of late thanks in large part to the massive contributions of one CJ McCollum. The NBA trade deadline acquisition from the Portland Trail Blazers has played like a man possessed. In nine games with the Pelicans, CJ McCollum is averaging 26.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.8 […]

Chris Paul is out at least another month with a broken right thumb, and Devin Booker entered health and safety protocols hours before tipoff. Even with their opponent absent both members of basketball’s best backcourt, though, the depleted, rebuilding Portland Trail Blazers were still sent to a third straight blowout loss. The Phoenix Suns routed […]

Damian Lillard and trade rumors: name a more iconic duo. The Portland Trail Blazers star has been the subject of speculation for as long as he’s been with the team. Countless fans and “analysts” have advocated for Lillard to stay with his original or, more popularly, for Lillard to demand a trade. For other members […]

Damian Lillard is making his way toward full health while from abdominal surgery. What that means for his potential return to the floor this season, though, the Portland Trail Blazers still won’t officially confirm. Portland announced on Sunday that Lillard has passed the “initial phase” of his rehabilitation “without setback,” and will be re-evaluated in […]

The Portland Trail Blazers suffered another blowout loss to the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night, , and at this point, it’s getting a little bit embarrassing. This is exactly what Charles Barkley had in mind when he called out Portland’s lackluster play as well as how they refuse to even consider trading away Damian […]

Damian Lillard has had some memorable duels against the Golden State Warriors over the years. The Portland Trail Blazers star has proved himself as a worthy adversary, but his teams have just never been stout enough to go up against Stephen Curry and co. Instead of growing any contempt towards Curry and the Warriors for […]

Portland Trail Blazers superstar point guard Damian Lillard joined Draymond Green on his podcast for a full hour. They discussed a range of topics. At one point, Lillard references the fact that he has not played with an All-Star since early in his career. That prompted the obvious question from Green. Do you think that’s […]

It’s been quite some time since we’ve seen Damian Lillard take the court for the Portland Trail Blazers. The All-Star point guard recently underwent surgery to address his abdominal injury, and right now, it still doesn’t sound like he’s going to be back anytime soon. Be that as it may, Lillard recently came out with […]

So much for consternation over a wholly transformative trade deadline. Instead of reeling from finally breaking up its longtime core, the Portland Trail Blazers entered the All-Star break winners of four straight games, playing with activity and intensity that had often been absent during Chauncey Billups’ inaugural season on the sidelines. The Blazers can’t count […]

Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum weren’t exactly surprised when they were finally split up. Both have clarified as much in wake of the latter’s move to the New Orleans Pelicans, with McCollum even acknowledging he had a say in his ultimate destination at the trade deadline. Just because they’d discussed the likelihood of McCollum playing […]

Anfernee Simons didn’t quite see the gravity of his breakout season coming. Entering his fourth NBA season firmly behind Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum in the Portland Trail Blazers’ backcourt, he expected to play a supporting role for a contender instead of cementing himself as a budding star with Lillard watching from the sidelines and […]

The bond between ex-Portland Trail Blazers teammates Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum runs deep. This pair spent many years together terrorizing the league as one of the most prolific scoring backcourts in all of the NBA. Their memorable run as teammates, however, came to an end a few weeks ago after the Blazers traded McCollum […]

Stephen Curry is not exactly a fan favorite in the city of Cleveland. Even before he stepped foot in Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, a handful of people felt the Warriors guard was already slighted ever so subtly by the NBA All-Star organizers. During the Clutch Challenge event on Rising Stars Friday, the spots on the court […]

The Portland Trail Blazers shockingly committed to a rebuild when they traded star guard CJ McCollum to the New Orleans Pelicans. The core of McCollum and fellow sharpshooter Damian Lillard was seemingly close to winning a title, but the elusive championship always appeared to be just out of reach. As such, Lillard has had to […]

The Portland Trail Blazers have had a tumultuous season thus far. They’ve shipped off most of their veteran talent, including Damian Lillard’s beloved backcourt partner CJ McCollum. It wouldn’t be surprising to most if the point guard would sour with his loyalty to the franchise he’s been on for a decade. However, it’s tough to […]

Mere moments after the most transformational trade deadline in franchise history, interim general manager Joe Cronin all but confirmed what the Portland Trail Blazers’ series of cost-cutting, win-later moves meant for Damian Lillard over the season’s remainder. Portland’s superstar point guard would “most likely” sit out until 2022-23, Cronin said at a post-deadline press conference, […]

It was a quiet trade deadline for the New York Knicks. They stood pat after making a trade for Cam Reddish nearly a month beforehand. New York’s failure to tinker with their roster was a huge mistake, as they now have to hope for the same band of disappointing players to get them back in […]

The 2022 NBA trade deadline brought a ton of excitement to the NBA community. Countless deals, roster shakeups, and many rumors that circulated got the fans very anxious to see what their favorite squad will do next. It was especially exciting for fans of the Nets and Sixers, two franchises that swapped stars in the […]

The Portland Trail Blazers’ abrupt recent turn in short-term priorities and team-building philosophy had already cast more doubt on the possibility of Damian Lillard returning this season. After his steam stood pat on Thursday at an otherwise wild trade deadline, the slim chances of Lillard coming back in 2021-22 effectively vanished altogether. During a post-deadline […]

It’s barely been more than 48 hours since the Portland Trail Blazers broke up the most successful, productive backcourt in franchise history. After his sorely depleted team’s stirring win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night, though, Chauncey Billups implored fans in Rip City to dream of new possibilities awaiting the Blazers with a […]

Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard knew that the day he and CJ McCollum are no longer playing on the same team would come, and he reflected on it during an interview with Casey Holdahl. When asked by Holdahl about his thoughts on the reality that he and McCollum now play for different teams, Lillard […]

The Portland Trail Blazers finally broke up the Damian Lillard-CJ McCollum duo, sending McCollum to the New Orleans Pelicans in a blockbuster deal. It ends a partnership that lasted eight-plus seasons, with plenty of great memories shared between the two guards. McCollum is now gone, but the Blazers have no plans to trade Lillard and […]

It’s officially a new era for the Portland Trail Blazers as the duo of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum has been broken up. McCollum was sent to the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday, as the Trail Blazers are now more keen on building for the future. Lillard and McCollum made the Trail Blazers perennial contenders. […]