The writing could also be on the wall for the season of Damian Lillard and the Portland Path Blazers.
NBA insider Chris Haynes said on this week’s episode of the ‘#thisleague UNCUT!’ podcast that the Blazers could also be closing to shutting down the seven-time All-Star guard Lillard for the season resulting from a proper calf damage.
“Dame in all probability has 5 or 6 extra video games left earlier than Portland in all probability shuts him down for the season,” stated Haynes, who later added that “[i]f these subsequent 5, six video games, they hold struggling, I’ll suspect… at that time, it’s in all probability not value it.
Haynes’ phrase carries weight on this scenario. He’s identified to be well-connected with Lillard and the Blazers, often times serving as their direct channel of communication.
The 33-year-old Lillard’s calf problem has stored him on the damage report for a lot of the month of March. With simply 13 video games remaining on their regular-season schedule, the Blazers maintain a bitter 31-38 document, one which has them 2.5 video games again of a play-in match spot.
Whereas Lillard lately signed a huge extension with the Blazers to keep him under contract through at least 2026, that is shaping as much as be the second straight season during which Portland will miss a 20-team postseason. This after dudding out within the first spherical throughout every of the earlier two campaigns.
The present misplaced season would possibly inevitably fireplace up one other spherical of summer season rumors as as to if or not the still-ringless Lillard would possibly search for extra a extra consistently-successful group.
