I have a lot of respect for Damian Lillard.
Rather than trying to join a Superteam for a ring he is staying loyal to the team that drafted him.
That hasn’t been easy, however. The Trailblazers have simply not been great this season.
After a promising start, they are 31-38 and not in the play-in.
The Blazers are considering shutting him down for the season.
The Portland Trail Blazers could shut Damian Lillard down if they slide out of the play-in picture over the next week or two. The Blazers enter Friday’s slate of games 2.5 out of 10th with both the Utah Jazz and New Orleans Pelicans ahead of them in 11th and 12th.
“I’ll say this: Dame probably has five or six more games left before Portland probably shuts him down for the season,” said Chris Haynes on the #ThisLeague Uncut Podcast. “There’s no use playing the duration of these games. So look out for that. If these next five, six games, they keep struggling, I will suspect…
“He’s going to be okay with that? He’s been really fighting the notion of playing for draft picks”
“He’s going to have to be okay if they’re not in contention to jump in that play-in. At that point, it’s probably not worth it. That’s why I’m saying these next five, six games, we’ll see if they can make some ground. If they don’t make any ground, I think that’s what’s going to happen. If the results are not that good.”
I can see both sides of this one.
On one hand, Lillard is going to want to play. On the other hand, the Blazers don’t want to risk him getting injured if they aren’t making the playoffs.