The Portland Trail Blazers are one of the teams in the league primed to make a leap this upcoming season. Obviously, they just traded for Ja Morant, shocking the NBA world, but they also have a great, young, up-and-coming core. Yet, ironically enough, it feels like one of the oldest players on the roster might be the most important: Damian Lillard.
The Blazers already got the first step of their rebuild out of the way. Well, at least the part of their rebuild that focuses on winning basketball games. Portland made the playoffs this past season, but was unfortunately bounced in round one by the San Antonio Spurs. Now, the Blazers need to learn how to win in the playoffs.
Luckily for them, they have one of the league’s best clutch shot-makers on their team. lillard. He only has a few years left of NBA action under his belt, but during that time, he should be able to give the Blazers a perfect playoff boost.
Damian Lillard will help the Blazers in the playoffs
Deni Avdija is going to be one of the best players in Portland moving forward. He is going to be the guy who should have the ball in his hands for the Blazers in the playoffs.
That said, every team needs multiple players that can play that part. And in the short-term, Lillard is definitely a guy that the Blazers can depend on to do that for them in the postseason.
Lillard is an elite three-point shooter. There is a real argument to be made that he is a top five three-point shooter in the history of basketball. And he's obviously hit some ridiculously clutch shots in the playoffs for Portland.
In fact, he might be one of the most clutch playoff shooters of all-time. And now, he is back on the Blazers, ready to help a young, new Portland side learn how to win in April, May, and hopefully June.
There will be a ton of pressure taken off Avdija if Lillard is on the floor playing alongside him. It won't be all up to him to put the ball in the basket when it matters most.
Obviously, Lillard isn't the same version of himself that hit massive game winners and sent teams home in the postseason. But he still knows how to make shots.
And for a Blazers team that is still learning what it takes to win in the playoffs, that is going to be a very valuable asset.
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