In a recent interview, Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard spoke about his different mindset since becoming a father. This new mentality will grow increasingly important as pressure mounts to succeed this postseason.
Almost a year ago, Damian Lillard became a father. And just recently, in an interview with SB Nation’s Paul Flannery, the Portland Trail Blazers star spoke about how this new role off-the-court has affected his mindset as an NBA player.
Flannery mentioned Lillard’s son and asked how he felt his birth has changed the All-NBA guard. Lillard said:
"“It’s changed me as a person in that I just don’t carry stuff like I used to…[…] Obviously it’s my career so you think about stuff, but it’s just not in my mind who the best point guard is and all the stuff that I once cared about. I just worry about myself and my team and doing stuff the right way.”"
In essence, Damian Jr. has aided in turning his father’s perspective more inward. Less often is Lillard comparing himself to others, jockeying for achievements, and mulling over player rankings. Instead, he is emphasizing how to support himself and those within the Blazers’ organization. He said he was better able to take criticisms and the meaning of accolades with a grain of salt.
Now, Lillard seems better equipped to determine which responses will yield the best results, with less outside influence skewing his judgment.
Portland will need their franchise player to be this levelheaded leader to spearhead their return to the postseason.
After a debilitating sweep to the sixth-seeded New Orleans Pelicans, many NBA analysts wrote the Blazers off as a cute story from 2018 and predicted regression during this campaign. They were wrong. In fact, the club has two more wins at this mark in the season (63 games) than last year.
As more commentators recognize and take Rip City seriously, pressure will mount to avoid a similar conclusion.
Take Chris Mannix’s recent Sports Illustrated piece, “Sweeping Success: The Blazers Must Prove Themselves in the Playoffs,” for example. He looks at the apparent deja vu surrounding this Portland team and wonders if this year’s version will fare any differently in a first round matchup.
While he does concede that this group feels built on a stronger foundation, he ends the piece on an eerie note:
"“The Blazers got a reprieve after last year’s first round flameout. They likely won’t get another. “"
Portland currently holds a 10-game postseason losing streak. When April 13 nears, you will hear this number repeated at nauseam.
Three things could happen this year: 1). The Blazers end this streak on their way to the second round; 2). They end the streak, but ultimately fail and pack their bags early again; or 3). They extend the streak to 14 games and catastrophe ensues.
It can be difficult to envision the first outcome after the recent disappointments and rumblings from the media that Portland is more pretender than contender.
Lillard’s new inward focus should help drown out the doubt that may seep into the Blazers’ locker room. Rather than compare this group to last year’s, or his play to another star’s, he will continue to believe in himself and his teammates and push to get the most out of everyone involved.
As Portland continues racking up wins to finish the year, they will need to keep an eye on the playoffs. The hard part hasn’t started yet.