Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard has lit up the NBA bubble in Orlando, Fla.
He was named the Kia NBA Player of the Seeding Games. More importantly, he carried the Trail Blazers to the playoffs, where they will face the first-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in what is expected to be a thrilling series.
Ahead of the matchup, Lillard offered a realistic take on whether his team can pull off an upset.
“I’ve seen everybody saying what we’re going to do to the Lakers, but the Lakers are the No. 1 seed in the West for a reason,” Lillard said.
“They’ve got the best player in the world on their team. But at the same time, we didn’t fight as hard as we fought in the bubble to just say, ‘Alright, we’re the eighth seed now let’s go out and get beat up on.’ We feel like we have a chance in a series against anybody in this league. We feel like we’ve got a chance in this series, and that’s how we’re going to approach it.
“We’re going to approach it with healthy level of respect for them from ourselves — not as far as what anybody else has to say or what other people think. We respect them for who they are, and we have enough belief in ourselves to go into it feeling like we can win a series. I think it’s that simple.”
The Trail Blazers can definitely put up a fight in the first round of the postseason. However, it is highly unlikely that they will get past the Lakers and LeBron James.
At 35 years old, James has been impressive this season. He has averaged 25.3 points per game this season, making it the 16th consecutive season he has eclipsed the 25-point-per-game mark. No other player has been able to do it for 15 straight seasons.
The four-time MVP also led the league in assists with 10.2 dimes per game this season.
James is also known for turning it up during the playoffs. He has averaged 28.9 points, 8.9 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game in 239 postseason matches.
