The Portland Trail Blazers are the team of the hour with nine victories in a row. Damian Lillard has played his way into the wider circle of MVP candidates with strong performances and is praised throughout the league. Finally.
Damian Lillard is proud. Proud of taking it from a small college to an NBA lottery pick. Proud to have been named the best rookie in his first NBA season. Proud of having made it into the All-Star and All-NBA team next year.
Lillard is a player whose self-confidence stands out – even in the Alphaier Park NBA. He doesn’t need to look at his paycheck to make sure he’s the best and most important player in his team. He takes litters in crunchtime with a matter of course that few other stars have.
“I can handle success as well as failure. Nothing changes in my head,”Lillard told Sporting News in the summer,”I go home, I sleep, I wake up and the next day I want the ball back. I love these situations.”
Lillard is not out of line or arrogant, but he is deeply convinced of himself. Of his accomplishments and skills. And from proving he’s one of the best players in the league. All the more it bothers him that the rest of the world apparently does not share his convictions.
Two years ago, Lillard played an average of 25.1 points and 6.8 assists per game, only 5 points less than Stephen Curry. But while Curry was voted MVP, Lillard didn’t even make it to the All-Star team. In the following season he took another step forward. He scored 27 points, 5.9 assists and 4.9 rebounds with a roll rate of 44.4 percent per game – almost all personal best scores. And yet Lillard continued to be denied league-wide recognition. Others made it into the All-Star and All-NBA teams.
Even this season, in which he finally made it back into an all-star team after three years of hard times, the criticism of him was not going to stop. Russell Westbrook publicly raged that the players “who really deserve it” wouldn’t be elected, but instead were “guys who complain until they come in”at the all-star game.
I have great respect for Russ, so I was a little disappointed that he said so,”he admitted.” He played against me. He played against our team. He knows what I’ve achieved. Not just this year, but in my career. So it was a bit disappointing, but I know I deserved my place” In the meantime both stars have spoken out, but the statements were still exemplary for Lillard’s “Under the radar”status.
Lillard seems at a loss. Why on earth does he never get the respect he gives to others? The fact that I didn’t make it into the All-Star team was largely due to our success as a team. So I had to get better,”he explained at NBA Inside Stuff.
The 27-year-old changed his training plan radically in the summer, and began preparing for the season earlier than ever before. Lillard went swimming or hiking every day, did boxing practice and changed his diet to vegan “At the beginning of this season I was mentally stronger than physically. And, believe me, I was physically absolutely ready”, he showed himself self-confident.
The hard work pays off. Lillard plays the statistically best season of his career, but his dominance goes far beyond the statistics sheet: The Blazers have won nine games in a row and are among the hottest teams in the league. Portland is suddenly in third place at the Western Conference, and for the first time in his career, Lillard could lead his team on a course that seems to be heading towards a playoff home advantage.
His own influence on the winning streak of his team cannot be overlooked. For his first victory against the Golden State Warriors, Lillard led his Blazers almost solo with 44 points, against which Phoenix Suns scored 7 points in the last 70 seconds of the game, including the game winner 0.9 seconds before the end. He shot the Los Angeles Lakers out of their own arena with 19 points in the last quarter, including four threesomes in four consecutive posessions.
I’ve seen a lot of great basketball in my life, but today I just thought:’ Wow!’,”said player Shabazz Napier after winning the Lakers,” I saw it in his eyes. He wanted the ball every time, he wanted to take the throw.”
The Blazers’ sudden series of victories, in which the Warriors were defeated twice, has given Lillard’s status in the league a boost. During the week, the fans celebrated him in the Moda Center with “MVP”-speaking choirs and even Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek raved about him:”The boy plays fantastic. He could be one of the players we need to talk about in the MVP discussion.”
In fact, Lillard was able to enter elitist circles statistically. The Point Guard ranks sixth in the league in terms of Win Shares, his True Shooting Percentage surpassed the 60s last week – a top score! More than one candidate for fifth, fourth or maximum third place on the ballot papers is not likely to be Lillard despite his outstanding achievements, as other superstars are still ahead of him. But for the time being, he won’t care. The playoff race at the Western Conference is currently enough drama. The current position at position three reads well, but the Blazers only separate three victories from the tenth place Utah Jazz.
With the Heat and the Cavaliers, Portland will have anything but cannon fodder in the next few games. In order to be able to extend its winning streak even further, a peak performance is therefore likely to be required. Damian Lillard is something special,”says Head Coach Terry Stotts, praising him in the highest tones:” If that’s not obvious, I’ll say it,”He wouldn’t have to say it. It’s obvious. Lillard fought long enough for it.