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Portland Trail Blazers: One statistic to define each players 2019/20 season

By Marlow Ferguson Jr.

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 25: Damian Lillard #0 and CJ McCollum #3 of the Portland Trail Blazers stand on the court for the National Anthem before their game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center on October 25, 2019 in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 25: Damian Lillard #0 and CJ McCollum #3 of the Portland Trail Blazers stand on the court for the National Anthem before their game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center on October 25, 2019 in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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Damian Lillard
(Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images) /

No. 1: Damian Lillard

The statistic: Over his six-game stretch in January, Lillard created an NBA-record 74 points per game.

Because of how long the game of basketball has been around, the odds were probably always against Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, in regards to scoring more than Wilt Chamberlain or Michael Jordan, or generating more assists than, say, John Stockton. But on the scale of “I can’t believe this,” or “How can we put this into perspective,” he’s right among the top of that list.

Everyone remembers the 61-point game on Martin Luther King Day, or how Lillard produced night-after-night like a great musician living up to its “encore” chants from a crowd — those are the first things you see on a YouTube highlight clip. What might not be as remembered, is how Lillard translated that into not only buckets for himself, but buckets for everyone else in black-and-red trim.

Players have scored more and assisted more, but no player in NBA history did as much simultaneously. Over a two-week run from Jan. 20 to Feb. 1, Lillard averaged 48.8 points and 10.2 assists on 55-57-92 splits(!), which totaled out to 444 points created, more than Chamberlain, more than James Harden, more than anyone.

A deep-dive into the circumstances help you to appreciate that even more. With CJ McCollum sidelined to an ankle injury, and Portland in the middle of a trade that left them shorthanded, the Blazers went into games with eight, sometimes nine players, and won.

Because of that, Portland’s depth was tested. At one point, their bench was so young and unproven, Mario Hezonja was the only reserve old enough to purchase liquor. To have a player generating that much gravity had to have been paramount to their success.

There’s a play from the Heat-Blazers game earlier this season that paints the picture of just how much fear Lillard puts into opposing defenders because of his scoring, and how that translates into easy looks. In this play, the Heat are more willing to give up a wide-open layup in a 2-on-1, than allow Lillard an open three, and whatever can of worms that opens.

This year’s been a test for Portland’s brass. Only four teams have been more ravaged by injuries, and that’s forced Lillard into a dozen games this season where his brilliant scoring hasn’t ended in victory.

But, prospects like Nassir Little and Jaylen Hoard can enter the stretch run of the season, presumably, with confidence in knowing they have one of the game’s great quarterbacks directing the way. And for Lillard, the NBA’s league-leader in miles run over the last few seasons, it could be one of the many breaks he deserves.