Home

NBA

“Superstar???”: NBA Analyst Still Not Convinced With Damian Lillard Performance Ahead of Playoffs

Published 08/15/2020, 11:19 PM EDT

Follow Us

It has been just a day since Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard won a unanimous Bubble MVP Award. But he has already attracted some criticism from sought-after American Sports Columnist Skip Bayless.

In their recent outing in the first-ever Bubble play-in tournament, Blazers somehow managed a win. Ja Morant of the Grizzlies dropped 35 points and 8 assists, but nothing that was enough. Blazers defeated the Memphis Grizzlies, 126-122 with Damian Lillard scoring 31 points, 2 rebounds, and 10 assists. Perhaps still not enough.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Portland Trail Blazers showed teamwork

With this loss, the Grizzlies have become the last team to leave the Bubble ahead of the playoffs. Now, the Lakers will face the Blazers in round 1 of the post-season. But how did Skip Bayless find an err in this win?

In the match against the Grizzlies, the game entered the fourth quarter with Blazers trailing by 5 points. But it was not a one-man show that got them the victory. CJ McCollum added 29 points while Carmelo Anthony contributed 21.

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest NBA stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

But Jusuf Nurkic, who scored 22 points (and crucial field goals after the score tied at 111-111), 21 rebounds, and 6 assists showed the most praiseworthy game. The inside-outside attack was amazing. This came after the news of his grandma’s sad demise due to the coronavirus.

The criticism against Damian Lillard continues

The columnist raises serious doubts on the clutch performance of the man who was voted to be in the NBA’s All-bubble Seeding Games First Team. The Big Dame averaged 37.6 points, 9.6 assists, and 4.3 rebounds per game during the NBA restart. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

In another Tweet, the columnist said, “Since Damian Lillard entered the league, he has the worst playoff winning percentage of any player in the NBA and the 2nd worst playoff plus-minus.” 

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

This attitude goes true with Skip’s bio Maybe not what you want to hear, but need to hear.” 

The Blazers will play the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, August 18th at 9:00 PM ET (TNT) in Game 1 of round 1. One thing is sure, the ailing Lakers will not get it easy. However, let us see if Dame can put up a show that can shut his critics.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Sourabh Singh

1,740Articles

One take at a time

Sourabh Singh is an NBA sports analyst for EssentiallySports, who has been working with the site since May 2020. Prior to this, he functioned as Managing Editor at WittyFeed, followed by a stint at Decathlon. The Sports Management graduate leads an active lifestyle, veering to the mountains for off-trail adventures.
Show More>