Let’s just say it: It hasn’t been pretty for the Trail Blazers, who find themselves in a big and not-so-easy 0-2 deficit against the New Orleans Pelicans in the opening round of the NBA Playoffs. A factor in the disappointing showing thus far has been the play of All-Star Damian Lillard. Through two games, he has shot 32 percent from the field and has totalled just 35 points in two games — a number Lillard’s shown he can easily accomplish in one game alone.
Haley O’Shaughnessy of The Ringer thinks it may be time to rethink how Lillard is viewed after the poor outings at home:
Entering the postseason this year, the Blazers gave the impression that they had a real chance because of Lillard’s commanding second half of the season—his final 25 games were littered with fourth-quarter hot streaks and he averaged 30.