According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN on Wednesday, Portland Trail Blazers superstar point guard Damian Lillard of Oakland, California will miss six to eight weeks after undergoing abdominal surgery. He reportedly experienced abdominal pain initially while representing the United States in men’s basketball at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021. Lillard averaged 11.2 points per game as the United States won their fourth consecutive gold medal.
The injury for Lillard is significant to a Portland Trail Blazers team that finds themselves eight games back of .500 after the first 40 games of the season. When healthy, Lillard is one of the most dynamic and most prolific shooters in the entire league. The six-time all-star averaged a career-high 30 points per game only two seasons ago.
In 2021-22, Lillard is averaging 24 points per game, 7.3 assists per game, and 4.1 rebounds per game. He also has a field goal percentage of .402, free throw percentage of .878, and a three-point percentage of .324. Lillard’s best game this season came on December 17, as he scored 43 points in a 125-116 win over the Charlotte Hornets.
It should be noted that the Trail Blazers have not had Lillard in their lineup since New Year’s Eve. To close out the 2021 portion of the season, the Trail Blazers were hammered 139-106 by the Los Angeles Lakers. In Portland’s last two games however, they have come away with wins. On January 9, Anfernee Simons scored 31 points as the Trail Blazers beat the Sacramento Kings 103-88. Then on January 10, the Trail Blazers upset the Brooklyn Nets 114-108 with Simons recording a double double (23 points and 11 assists).
Even though Portland is at 16-24, remarkably they are still in 10th place in the Western Conference. Under the new playoff format in the NBA, 10th place is good enough for the mini play-in tournament to determine who the seventh and eighth seeds will be.
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