Portland Trail Blazers survive another cold Damian Lillard game vs Pacers

The Portland Trail Blazers may need to give Damian Lillard time to heal

Following the team’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Lillard made headlines when he admitted that he’s been dealing with a lingering core injury for years now, which was re-aggravated during his Olympics run, and then again versus the Cavs.

Poor physical health is as good a reason as any for Dame’s tenuous play this season, as it’s head-scratching to try to understand why else an NBA 75th Anniversary team member could be struggling this hard.

The Blazers need Lillard at full strength sooner rather than later, as they won’t get many breaks like the one the Pacers just gave them.

If it’s true that this nagging injury is the reason behind his wayward shooting this year, then it may be best to give him some time off to try to get back to 100 percent.

With CJ McCollum cooking early on and Anfernee Simons’s expeditious ascension into an offensive star, the Blazers can survive without Lillard for a short time. In fact, in his current state, the team may be better off without him. He finished a -4 for tonight’s game, the only starter to have a negative figure.

While Dame’s offensive gravity is still creating great looks for the team, evidenced by his currently career-high 8.8 assists per game, having him try to force his way into a rhythm has been disrupting the team’s flow on offense and could ultimately even affect his shot long-term.

Lillard certainly isn’t the type to “load manage,” but he may need some time to heal from a very real health concern.