The Portland Trail Blazers begin a six-game road trip on Thursday with a matchup against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. Damian Lillard hasn't played in his team's last five games, a stretch in which Portland has gone a surprising 3-2 behind the breakout play of Anfernee Simons. Will Lillard be back on the floor in Denver to help his young backcourt mate maintain the Blazers' momentum?

Is Damian Lillard playing vs. Nuggets

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 Cleveland 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.”

Immediately following Team USA's win in the Olympic gold medal game on August 6th, 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.”

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The Houston Rockets invested heavily into Fred VanVleet during the 2023 offseason. Houston gave the point guard a three-year, $128 million deal in a move that was meant to turn the Rockets from a rebuilding team into a championship contending one. The signing did just that, as the Rockets finished the 2024-25 regular season as the two-seed in a stacked Western Conference. VanVleet was the veteran presence and 3-point shooter that the team desperately needed, and he still might have a role with the Rockets going forward. Houston has a team option on his contract for next year, and they very well may pick it up. The Wichita State product reportedly wants to stay in Houston, but the point guard would be set to make over $44 million next season under his current contract. The Rockets and their guard recently pushed back the deadline on Houston's decision with VanVleet, and although reports suggest that they are interested in writing up a new, long-term deal, it isn't necessarily a guarantee that VanVleet will be playing for Houston next year. The Rockets blew him away with an offer he couldn't refuse back in 2023, and another team could so the same when/if he hits the open market this offseason. If VanVleet does become an unrestricted free agent, which teams outside of Houston would make the most sense for him to sign with? 1. Orlando Magic Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner recently signed big deals with the Orlando Magic, and Paolo Banchero will be getting a mega contract extension here soon. Because of that, the Magic no longer have money to blow like they have had in recent years. That will make a deal for another big ticket free agent hard to pull off, especially considering the team signed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope last year. If Orlando can make the money work, though, then Fred VanVleet would be a great fit with the Magic. The Magic finished dead last in 3-point shooting this season, and VanVleet has made at least 2.5 deep balls per game in every season since 2018-19. VanVleet can hit shots form behind the arc off of the bounce or in catch-and-shoot situations. The Rockets were heavily reliant on his shooting expertise, so the guard would have plenty of familiarity getting up deep shots with high volume if he signed with the Magic. While undersized, VanVleet is a pesky defender, so he'd fit right in with a Magic team that has one of the best defensive units in the league. VanVleet could play alongside Suggs and give opposing teams fits. Ultimately, though, the Magic just need more shooting to get to the next level, and VanVleet is arguably the best shooter who could be available on the open market this offseason. 2. Brooklyn Nets A more realistic option for a VanVleet destination would be the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets are set up to have the most cap space this offseason, and they have a major need at point guard. With D'Angelo Russell and De'Anthony Melton hitting free agency this offseason, the Nets don't have a true point guard under contract for next season. Brooklyn needs to spend big this offseason, and they'd be smart to offer VanVleet a contract big enough that he'd have no choice but to leave Houston. VanVleet averaged 14.1 points per game last season, which was his lowest mark since 2018-19. He is trending the wrong way, but he still has enough left in the tank to give the Nets a few good seasons. 3. Portland Trail Blazers In the same way that the Rockets were looking to take the next step in 2023, the Portland Trail Blazers could use VanVleet's presence to get over the hump. The Trail Blazers have plenty of big man depth, as centers Deandre Ayton, Donovan Clingan, Robert Williams, and Duop Death are all under contract next season. Portland also has a lot of wing depth. Deni Advija started to look like a star late this past season, Toumani Camara is an elite defender, Shaedon Sharpe is a freakish athlete, and Jerami Grant is a proven scorer. The team is thinner in the backcourt, though. Anfernee Simons is a solid scorer, but Scoot Henderson has looked like a fringe draft bust since being drafted third overall. Portland shouldn't give up on Henderson completely, but there wouldn't be any harm in signing another guard. Like the Magic, the Blazers were one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the NBA. VanVleet would improve that weakness, and in a stacked Western Conference, Portland needs all of the help they can get if they are to compete for a playoff spot.
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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. Before his team's victory over Sacramento on Sunday, Chauncey Billups revealed that Lillard wouldn't travel on Portland's road trip to seek further consultation on his injury.

On Wednesday afternoon, multiple reports surfaced that Lillard is set to have surgery on his injured midsection hours before tipoff in Denver. Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, who has a close personal relationship with the eight-time All-Star, reported that Lillard will be out six-to-eight weeks and his return would be dependent on both his health and Portland's place in the standings.

Is Lillard playing on Monday against the Nuggets? No, and it seems increasingly likely his season could be over.