Damian Lillard has looked more like Dame Dolla Store than Dame Dolla this season, and now we may have a better indication of why.
A report went viral this week from Josh Lloyd of Basketball Monster (h/t NBA Reddit). Lloyd relayed in October that there was conjecture about Lillard playing through a somewhat significant abdominal injury that might have worsened when he played in the Tokyo Olympics. Lloyd also added that the prevailing thought was that Lillard probably should have gotten surgery.
Fast forward to this week, and now the six-time All-Star Lillard has been ruled out through mid-December after an MRI revealed lower abdominal tendinopathy. It is a development that seemed to prove Lloyd’s report right.
Blazers coach Chauncey Billups had another concerning quote about Lillard on Thursday. While Billups noted that there has been no talk of surgery at this point, he said that Lillard will spend much of his absence just resting and that the team hopes that he can get in a little bit of basketball activity, per Sean Highkin of Bleacher Report.
Lillard had not looked quite right all year. Normally one of the NBA’s more efficient three-level scorers, Lillard is shooting just 39.7 percent from the field and 30.6 percent from deep (both career lows) for a total of 21.5 points per game this season. The Blazers are also now under .500 for the year.
It is worrisome that Lillard, now in his 30s, had a seemingly significant issue that he played through for more than a month’s worth of rigorous NBA action. It even more so considering that he can now do little at this point but just rest. With this season also looking like a prove-it campaign for Lillard’s future in Portland, there is nothing to like about any of this for Blazers fans right now.
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