The Trail Blazers earned the 8-seed in the Western Conference by way of Russell Westbrook’s ridiculous game-winning three and 50-point triple-double on Sunday, which meant that Portland would draw the Warriors in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs. Most expect the first round to be a warmup of sorts for Golden State as they get ready for the big tests that await them in the conference semifinals and finals in the West.
However, Damian Lillard and the Blazers hope to steal a page out of the Warriors playbook from 10 years ago and shock the world by upsetting the league’s top team. Lillard was asked for a prediction of Blazers in six or seven, and modified the old Brandon Jennings line from the 2013 playoffs where he said “Bucks in six” when asked for a prediction for Milwaukee’s upcoming series with the top-seeded Cavs.
It’s bold, sure, but that’s Dame.
Damian Lillard says @trailblazers in 6 games👊 #NBAplayoffs pic.twitter.com/saNtJvrdWA
— NBC Sports Northwest (@NBCSNorthwest) April 13, 2017
I love it. I love when players show confidence in the face of overwhelming odds and Lillard’s face here even shows that he knows it’s a bit of a silly thing to say, but, hey, the worst that happens is Golden State is more motivated and beats the hell out of the Blazers for four games. Guess what? Most people would expect that to happen anyways!
So, why not show some confidence, have a little fun — and I’m sure he knows about Jennings’ “Bucks in six” line — and then go out and try and steal a game or two early and make people sweat.
It’s really, really hard to beat the Warriors by out-scoring them, but if there’s a team that is built to get hot and steal a game or maybe two in a series from them by doing that it’s the Blazers with Lillard and C.J. McCollum. “Blazers in six” won’t be the pick of many, but if you’re going into a series not at least outwardly promoting that you can win it then why even bother playing.
