The NBA landscape can change in the blink of an eye. With the Trail Blazers stealing Game 2 on the road against the Spurs and Victor Wembanyama suffering an unfortunate concussion, there was speculation of a Damian Lillard return sooner than expected.
Portland's star guard has always made it clear that the timeline to return was the start of next season. Still, that didn't stop rumors from spiraling.
Bill Oram of The Oregonian/OregonLive even reported that a Lillard playoff return wasn't impossible this year. However, he also added that it would have to come either very late in the series against San Antonio or later in the playoffs.
The pipe dream of Lillard's return propelling a seven-seeded Portland to a deep playoff run isn't officially off the table, but that slim chance gets closer to zero with each passing day. For one, the Blazers would have to find a way to extend the series against the Spurs, which is a tall task in itself, considering they are already down 3-1 in the series.
Blazers' offense missed Damian Lillard this series
Barring a major upset, Portland will be eliminated Tuesday night. They enter Game 5 as massive underdogs, currently listed as an 11.5-point spread on DraftKings Sportsbook.
If you told me, entering the series, that Portland would lose in five games and Lillard wouldn't return, I'd say that's an extremely likely outcome. But the way this series has gone has been an absolute rollercoaster of emotions, getting Blazers fans' hopes up more than expected only for them to come crashing down.
There's an alternate timeline in which Portland is the one with the 3-1 lead and talks of Lillard's return gains even more realistic traction. That is, had the Blazers been able to take care of business at home.
It's not just that they lost the series advantage; it's how they lost it, with two consecutive second-half collapses in which their offense stalled.
San Antonio deserves credit for its stifling defense, but the same issues that have plagued Portland all season came back to haunt them at the worst possible time: playmaking and shooting.
Turnovers and inefficient three-point percentage are an absolute recipe for disaster, as Portland is neither maximizing nor optimizing its possessions. The silver lining to that is they were able to make this a much more competitive series than many gave them credit for heading into it. And the two areas where the offense fell short in those collapses are where Lillard just so happens to thrive.
But it's increasingly looking like that much-needed offensive boost won't come until next season, with Portland's back suddenly against the wall heading into Game 5.
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