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Lillard has a bright future. Blazers should feel good about next year
http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/in...n_lillard.html
Not even Wesley "Iron Man" Matthews (right) has been able to do what Damian Lillard (center) has done this season -- play in every game.
Knock on wood.
The most important piece of the Trail Blazers’ future is about to be jinxed.
For all the accolades Damian Lillard has received, for all the history-making statistics he has ac ulated, for all the hype he has generated, perhaps his proudest achievement during this runaway Rookie of the Year season has gone unrecognized.
Lillard is one of just 39 players in the NBA — and the lone person on his own team — to play in every game this season. His basketball ability is so dynamic and so polished, its easy to forget that Lillard also is quickly proving to be one of the toughest and most durable players in the NBA.
“He’s the closest thing I’ve seen to Andre Miller since Andre Miller,” Blazers trainer Jay Jensen said, referring to the former Blazers point guard and one-time NBA Iron Man who played in 632 consecutive games before a suspension ended the streak. “Damian is one of the toughest I’ve seen.”
No NBA franchise has had its foundation and future rocked by injuries more than the Blazers in recent seasons, as one-time franchise cornerstones Greg Oden and Brandon Roy had promising careers sabotaged and a host of other players endured various ailments. But Lillard is breaking the Blazers’ bad mojo.
Not only has he started all 78 Blazers games, Lillard also has played extensive minutes. Lillard ranks second in the NBA in minutes played (3,012) and third in average per game (38.6).
“He’s tough, he’s durable,” said Wesley Matthews, a noted tough player who missed games due to injury for the first time in his career this season. “But it’s more than physical. It’s his mentality. Damian’s had his bumps and bruises through the course of the season, but he’s gutted them out.”
Lillard can only think of a handful of cir stances that have threatened his ability to play.
At the end of a February road game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant whacked Lillard so hard in the head, Lillard became dizzy and light-headed as he walked to the visiting locker room at the Staples Center. Last month, an opposing player lodged an elbow so hard into Lillard’s shoulder, Lillard grimaced and grabbed it, calling for a subs ute and leaving the game. He returned after a quick check by Jensen and the only visible lingering effect was a padded vest Lillard later wore as extra protection for two games.
Then, during Wednesday’s historic performance against Bryant and the Lakers at the Rose Garden, Lillard briefly hurt his right knee in the fourth quarter during a tough driving layup. As Lillard charged toward the rim, Steve Blake stepped in front of him to draw a charge and bumped Lillard, sending him crashing hard to the court.
Lillard rose slowly and gingerly, wincing and rubbing his right knee as a sellout Rose Garden crowd held it’s collective breath. But after a quick timeout, Lillard was back, burning the Lakers with a career-high 38 points, nine assists and three steals in an electric duel with Bryant.
“It was just one of those sharp pains for a moment,” Lillard said. “I needed to sit down. So I sat down and rubbed the pain off.”
For Lillard, playing is about pride and he said his pride has only been tested twice in his life. During his junior season at Weber State, he missed all but nine games because of a broken bone in his right foot. And during his senior season in high school, Lillard missed one tournament because he hyperextended his left knee when he landed awkwardly after a dunk.
“It would take a lot for me to sit out a game,” Lillard said. “I take pride in playing every game because I feel like being able to play every game says something about who you are.”
Of course, it also takes a lot of luck to play in 82 NBA games. But Lillard does the little things behind the scenes to make his own luck.
On both game days and off days, he is maniacal about undergoing treatment and doing corrective exercises to heal his achy joints and muscles. He receives daily massages from the Blazers’ team masseuse. He routinely takes hot and cold baths to help sooth his body, alternating from one to other in three-minute intervals until his therapeutic session is complete.
And when Lillard isn’t playing, he’s most likely lounging around his house in a laid-back environment, eschewing the Portland night life for rest and relaxation.
But more than anything, Lillard said, he prepared himself to play all 82 games with an intense offseason of workouts, shooting drills and conditioning. Every day, he awoke early for conditioning. Then, later in the day, he hit the gym for shooting and weightlifting. He never took a day off, never slacked during a workout.
“You play so many games that it’s mentally challenging,” Lillard said of the NBA season. “Like in my workouts, I really challenged myself mentally. There were a lot of times in my head when I was like, ‘Man, I don’t want to get up. I don’t want to work out this morning.’ But my mind became strong enough to fight that. I was able to do it regardless of whether I wanted to or not. Then, once I got to the workout, even though I didn’t want to be there, I automatically snapped back into what I needed to be doing.”
Lillard has experienced a similar feeling countless times this season. When he steps onto the court for pregame workouts before playing the second game of a back-to-back, his legs ache, his arms feel rubbery, his mind is tired. But he powers through it and by tipoff — just like those summer mornings — Lillard “snaps” back and guts it out.
“Playing 82 in this league is a badge of honor,” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. “I don’t know how many guys every year play 82 games, but those that do take a lot of pride in it. Damian has taken a beating, but he still brings it every night. It’s what he has inside of him. It’s his physical makeup, his mental toughness, his approach to the game. His drive.”
Last season, just 32 players competed in every game during the NBA’s lockout-shortened 66-game season. The season before that, only 30 players played in all 82 games. Over the last five years, the highest number of players to play in 82 games is 42 (in 2007-08).
The Blazers (33-45) are limping toward the finish line this season as Nicolas Batum, LaMarcus Aldridge, JJ Hickson and Matthews each have encountered injuries that have forced them to miss games. But Lillard keep chugging along, defying odds for a franchise that has experienced more than its share of bad injury luck.
Lillard has scored nearly 1,500 points this season, ac ulated more than 500 assists and made a NBA rookie-record 176 three-pointers. But the number that might mean the most to him is 82.
“To me, that would rank up close to the top,” Lillard said. “Because everything I did was to prepare myself for this. Not only to play well, but to be able to stay healthy and be able to maintain the level that I was able to start at. And to me, it says that what I was doing was the right thing and it’s working for me and it paid off. So that would mean a lot to me.”
Knock on wood.
Lillard has a bright future. Blazers should feel good about next year
Way to jinx him...
too bad his auditioning for the lakers the other night
He's led them to one of their worst records in a long time.
Bless you for rolling over the other nite.
Hey, we're in tank mode. We started 4 rookies against the Lakers. We need to keep our draft pick and sign a good FA. We'll be fine.
That was the 1st time I have seen Damian Lillard play & was thinking I hope Mitch is seeing this...
how ing sad are things for the Blazers when a kid playing all 82 games is their season highlight
in b4 cracked pelvis or shredded mcl
Just think, if you could tank for an entire decade, you could have a roster full of top-10 picks!
Oh no doubt if Blazers win the lottery they are taking Noel ... they will argue why take Oladipo or Muhammed when you ALREADY Have Lilard ...
Poor kid's career will be cursed before it even started ... Noel will blow out his other knee ...
Lilard may be jinx proof but we shall see ...my guess his arc will be more Brandon Roy then tragic like ODen so maybe Blazers will get some playoff victories before his knees flame out ...
Tlong, if you are tanking when you have Aldridge, Batum, Matthews, Lillard you are not fine
If I were a Blazers writer I would never write an article like this...
Our bench is the worst in the NBA by farTlong, if you are tanking when you have Aldridge, Batum, Matthews, Lillard you are not fine
Point is the team is awful despite having talent. Maybe those guys aren't as good or impactful with regards to wins vs. stats as people think.
Yea I think our biggest problem might be our pf/c position JJ gives us what he can everynight but hes about 3 inches too short, cant block or defend(things Aldridge cant do either) we need a big guy who can make up for those weaknesses. That and our bench is the biggest problems imo
Valid points
be careful Lillard
We have no bench. None. We were around .500 until some of our starters had to sit some games due to injury. We just need to add some depth and we'll be fine.Tlong, if you are tanking when you have Aldridge, Batum, Matthews, Lillard you are not fine
be careful Lillard
That ain't right.
Proving the fact that mass affects space/time was easy, just took a few years and a load of dead Jews. Getting the Blazers to a win could require intervention of a fellow who doesn't play dice with the universe.
Never mind.
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