The Blazers are 31-40 and 4.5 games away from the NBA Western Conference No. 10, giving management reason to shut down All-Star Damian Lillard.
The 31-40 Portland Trail Blazers are No. 13 in the NBA Western Conference after losing eight of their last 10 games and may have a fighting chance in the play-in tournament. Amid a disappointing campaign, rumors circulated that the franchise could shut down Damian Lillard for the remainder of the regular season.
ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith is not known to be keeping his mouth shut, and spoke frankly in ‘First Take’ about Lillard’s potential shutdown as well as his greater anger at Lillard’s loyalty to the franchise:
Much can be gleaned from Smith’s quote, but nothing better than his saying, “You [Portland] I just don’t have it.” Schmidt is right. The Trail Blazers don’t have a masterful roster.
The numbers say the Blazers are an above-average team on offense and an under-average team on defense. But the eye test screamed careless turnovers, failure to consistently deny three-pointers, poor rim protection and even worse perimeter defenses.
Granted, ill-timed injuries robbed Portland of their final run of the regular season, but they haven’t looked like a team that can seriously get through the first round of the playoffs in months, even at full strength. Shutting down Lillard can be smart.
The 32-year-old has struggled with nagging ailments all year – chiefly a calf injury that caused him to miss 12 of Portland’s first 23 games. Playing Lillard opens the door for re-aggravation or worse.
Smith also said that “the Portland Trail Blazers just aren’t the place.” Lillard has consistently demonstrated his unwavering loyalty to the city of Portland and the Blazers organization. His departure for greener pastures is highly unlikely, as he doubled down on those sentiments in a recent appearance on JJ Redick’s Old Man and the Three podcast.
Blazers management should feel compelled to return loyalty to Lillard by building a competitive team around the 2023 All-Star. The acquisition of Jerami Grant was the first step. Most notably, they need to retool the center position and deploy larger and more versatile defensive big men in the offseason. An outstanding full-back with length is needed in their starting core, and a passing first-point guard who offloads Dame will add the finishing touches to a serious contender.
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