NBA Twitter is currently going after Damian Lillard and his playoff performances. Here’s a break down of each playoff series and what lies beyond the basic stats everyone screenshots as justification.
Breaks in NBA action have resulted in some random, weird Twitter conversations – “Larry Bird wouldn’t even average 15 points per game in today’s NBA” is the first that comes to mind.
Most recently, much of NBA Twitter has turned its attention toward Damian Lillard. Accounts are posting their top five in each position entering the 2018-2019 season, many of which leave Lillard out. John Wall and Kyrie Irving are generally the last two who rank ahead of him.
Whenever someone says Lillard should be in the top five point guards, his playoff stats are immediately used as justification for his absence.
Additionally, posts about Lillard on any verified NBA account have dozens of responses about Jrue Holiday shutting him down in last year’s playoffs.
Lillard’s playoff performances may not be up to par with his regular season dominance that has earned him three All-NBA awards (including First Team All-NBA last season). However, ranking him outside the top five point guards and writing him off as an elite talent is simply incorrect.
As the playoffs are people’s No. 1 target for dragging Lillard, here’s a breakdown of each Blazers postseason appearance on the stat sheet and beyond it.