Damian Lillard, who missed Wednesday’s loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, is a new father now — but he’ll suit up and play Friday as the Blazers take on the Clippers at the Moda Center.
Rip City waited along with the Blazers’ franchise player. And when the moment came — or at least not too long after — we got the news: Baby Dame is here!
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bg6SI5DjZZG/?taken-by=damianlillard
And not too long after that, we found out the answer to something else that was on our minds:
Is Dame gonna play on Friday against the Clippers?
Sources: After birth of his son Thursday morning, Portland star Damian Lillard will return to the Trail Blazers for Friday’s home game against the Clippers. He missed Blazers’ road loss in Memphis on Wednesday.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 29, 2018
Damian Lillard has missed eight games this season; the Blazers are 5-3 in those games. Their most recent loss was Wednesday night against the woeful Memphis Grizzlies. (Portland will have a chance to atone for that loss Sunday when the Grizzlies visit Moda.)
But now that Baby Dame is here, that means Daddy Dame is back.
Clippers vs. Blazers
The Clippers-Blazers tip-off is set for Friday at 7:30 p.m. PDT.
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The Clippers (41-34; 10th in the Western Conference) beat the Phoenix Suns Wednesday, 111-99. Los Angeles is currently on the outside of the playoffs looking in. But they have won four of their last five, including a road win at Toronto.
This will be the fourth and final match-up between Portland and LAC this season; Portland has won two of the first three.
Blazers’ Current Situation
Portland (46-29, third in the Western Conference) controls its own destiny. Their so-called “magic number” to make the playoffs is two. The “magic number” to grab that third seed is five.
But — just like we’ve been saying for a couple of weeks now — all they really need to do is win. Take care of business. Don’t worry about the teams that are struggling for position beneath them in the standings.
Like the Clippers, for example. LAC not only needs to keep winning, but it needs other teams to lose in order for them to make the playoffs. So we can be sure that they will be fighting for their season Friday night at the Moda and hoping to escape with a win.
Next: Blazers loss in Memphis is just a bump on the road to awesome
As we learned Wednesday, no wins are guaranteed. But with Daddy Dame back in the lineup, it sure makes getting them a lot easier.
Go Blazers.