When healthy, Damian Lillard has proven that he is a worthy All-Star for the Blazers this season (@Trailblazers/Instagram).
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In a tightly packed Western Conference, where only a handful of games separate the first- and thirteenth-place teams, Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report is encouraged by the Portland Trail Blazers’ start. Specifically, the Blazers have gotten All-Star-caliber, not to mention career-best, contributions from Jerami Grant and Anfernee Simons. Such stellar play from Portland’s secondary stars has enabled it to weather a difficult early schedule played about half of the time without franchise cornerstone Damian Lillard. Here are some Highkin highlights on how Portland was able to stay afloat, lottery pick Shaedon Sharpe’s early flashes, what’s ahead for the Blazers and much more:
6:15-7:07: “I don’t think they’re a title contender, and I don’t think they think they’re a title contender either; that’s the other part about it. Joe Cronin, the general manager, went into the season saying that he doesn’t think this roster is complete and he doesn’t think it’s good enough right now to contend and that it’s still kind of a work in progress. … Going into the season…I said they would probably make the playoffs as a 7 or 8 seed out of the play-in. At this point, I’m pretty comfortable saying that I think they’re gonna be Top-6 just because they’re currently in the middle of the toughest part of their schedule. They’ve had a ton of road games.”
13:03-13:45: “Every single one of their rotation players has missed at least one game at some point this season. … Between the injuries and just how hard their schedule has been – between how many good teams they’ve played and how many games they’ve played on the road – it is kinda hard to get a read on how good they are or are not, which is why I said at the beginning of the season if they could get through this stretch and get to Christmas at .500, they’re fine, and I still think that, and I still think they’re in a good position to do that.” Continue reading