The Western Conference is loaded with intriguing storylines, from the Warriors flipping the switch to Nikola Jokic and Paul George’s MVP campaigns, and then whatever is happening with the Lakers, the Pelicans, and Anthony Davis.
There is so much to keep track of, and in the middle of that ruckus sit the Portland Trail Blazers. A team in position to host a playoff series and in possession of one of the most content superstars in the league, an elite individual offensive force who plays at 90 percent of Steph Curry’s capacity with 10 percent of the fanfare.
Damian Lillard is in the midst of yet another superlative offensive season, fresh off of scoring 36 points in a beatdown of the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night. Lillard will likely be named an All-Star for the fourth time on Thursday evening, he was a first-team All-NBA selection last year, and he is the driving force of the eighth-ranked offense in the league.
Lillard has maintained his place among the NBA’s upper echelon this season. He is averaging 26.4 points per game on 59.2 percent true shooting, and he changes the calculus of how defenses have to play him with his ability to hit pull-up threes off the dribble. He takes 4.6 pull-up threes per game and hits 36.4 percent of them. An offense entirely consisting of Lillard pull-up 3-pointers would have a 109.2 offensive rating, oodles better than every half-court offense in the league, which means teams simply can’t give Lillard any space.
Look what happened last night when Rudy Gobert, the reigning defensive player of the year, gets caught on Lillard after Meyers Leonard screens for him. Gobert generally drops closer to the basket, but even one of the league’s best defenses is forced to adjust to Lillard’s prowess.
Dame’s shooting has been excellent beyond pull-ups. He is canning 44 percent of his midrange shots and 38 percent of all threes, as well as 90.6 percent of his free throws, which makes for a pretty shot chart.
The ability to consistently hit difficult jumpers, a feat only really replicated by the best point guards in the game (Curry, James Harden, and Kemba Walker) is a key component of Portland’s offensive success. Lillard’s gravity enables him to be not only the primary scorer, but also the primary creator for the Blazers, assisting on 27.9 percent of his teammates’ baskets. He rarely turns the ball over despite his 31.4 percent usage rate, and when Lillard is on the floor, the team’s offensive rating increases by 10.5 points.
Lillard’s trademark ability to produce in the fourth quarter has also continued this season, as he sports a sterling 114.5 offensive rating in the final frame. Portland has won 13 of its 23 clutch contests on the year, in spite of the every defense knowing the ball will find its way into Lillard’s hands.
Before the season, with potentially 14 teams in the West vying for the playoffs, Lillard was asked what he thought of the Blazers’ odds of continuing their postseason streak. He told the Los Angeles Times, “It comes down to your mentality and your character and your desire. It’s not a mistake or a fluke that the last few years, every time it’s gotten tight and gotten rough, it’s not a mistake or a fluke that we always come out on top.”
He may have been speaking about his team, but Lillard was just as easily describing himself. He has the mentality, the character, and the desire to consistently be one of the league’s best guards, if not players. Lillard may not be the most exciting story in the league, but he is one of its most durable.
