Seven games into the 2021-22 season, the Portland Trail Blazers have looked like chameleons in how many different phases they’ve shown. At times, they’ve looked ready to bring a championship parade past the Willamette River, as evidenced in their 29-point shellacking of the defending Western Conference Champion Phoenix Suns. At others — such as Monday’s loss to the Embiid-less, Simmons-less, Harris-less 76ers — the 2022 NBA Draft has looked like more of a focus. Such are the ebbs and flows of an 82-game season.
In the midst of this, Damian Lillard finds himself in the midst of one of the more unproductive streaks of his career, shooting just 34.