Damian Lillard has been playing like a man possessed over the Portland Trail Blazers‘ last 10 games. The team is 9-1 in that stretch thanks in large part to the play of their starting point guard — Lillard is averaging 35.4 points and 5.3 assists a night in the last 10 games, connecting on 48.9 percent of his attempts from the field and 43 percent of his threes.
It has led to Portland, which is riding an eight-game winning streak, surging into third place in the Western Conference. It has also led to Lillard seeing his name pop up in the MVP conversation, something he was asked about on Thursday afternoon.
Lillard gave his thoughts on the recent chatter that has led to him being added to the race for the league’s top individual honor, and gave a pretty simple answer.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Lillard asked. “I don’t see why I wouldn’t be mentioned.”
Lillard did concede that the “special season” James Harden has had for the first-place Houston Rockets cannot be ignored, and that “what he’s doing individually, and what their team is doing, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the winner.”
While Lillard is correct that Harden seems like he’s running away with things right now, he is also right that he’s earned a spot in the conversation this year. There’s still a lot that needs to happen this season, but if he can keep this up, he’ll certainly get some MVP votes and push for a first-team All-NBA spot.
(Via Oregon Live)
