Damian Lillard Is Healthy, And He’s Putting The Portland Trail Blazers On His Back

The Portland Trail Blazers are 3-0 to start the young season, primarily due to the play of Damian Lillard, who’s averaging a whopping 34 points per game, in large part due to back-to-back 41-point performances.

Lillard, who has played for Portland for his entire career, was a major trade topic last season, when fans were split between the idea of hanging onto him, or pivoting into a rebuild.

The Blazers put out that fire by handing Lillard a two-year extension on his existing contract, worth $121.7 million. The extension will kick in before the 2025-2026 season and keep Lillard under contract until 2027, when he’s about to turn 37.

Getting back

The 32-year-old All-Star played just 29 games in the 2021-2022 campaign, due to an abdominal issue that has lingered for years. To many, it seemed the time had come for the Blazers to change course, but instead the organization decided to re-tool around Lillard, a decision that was seen with quite a bit of skepticism.

After moving around several pieces, and ending up with Shaedon Sharpe in the draft, it all came down to one thing: The health of Lillard. There was no question that he was the centerpiece of the whole project, and without him it’d be a fruitless endeavor.

Fortunately for Portland, Lillard looks every bit the part he used to, before the injury. He’s closing games, has a bounce to his step that’s otherwise not been there for a while, and he looks more engaged than in years past.

This newfound energy and enthusiasm has allowed Lillard to carry the Blazers early, while Anfernee Simons – Portland’s second-best scorer – has struggled, shooting just 33.9% from the field on the season.

Jerami Grant, Portland’s key acquisition this offseason, has been able to play off of Lillard, using the attention devoted to the point guard to fly under the radar. He’s notched 15.7 points per game, and often finds himself open in the corners due to opposing defenses collapsing on Lillard when he enters the paint.

While it’s unlikely the Blazers keep winning at this rate, Lillard seemingly looks to be fully back, which dramatically improves their chances of returning to the postseason. Having a player of his caliber late in games will be a priceless tool for the Blazers as they take on the rest of the western conference.

It’s also worth noting that Simons will eventually bounce back as well, providing the Blazers with a high-scoring backcourt, not entirely dissimilar from when Lillard shared the guard spots with C.J. McCollum.

Depth & outlook

So far, the Blazers have played just nine players, sticking with a tight rotation. Josh Hart and Jusuf Nurkić are combining for 22.3 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game, and the bench is made of Sharpe, Nassir Little, Drew Eubanks, and Justise Winslow.

That bench doesn’t exactly inspire much long-term confidence, but fortunately help is on the way. Gary Payton II, who signed as a free agent this summer, has had a procedure done to his core and stands to get re-evaluated in late October.

Payton will likely absorb quite a few minutes from both Little and Winslow, as a defensive specialist coming off the bench. He helped the Warriors win the championship last season, and will look to give some lift to Portland’s depth.

While Payton will be welcomed back with open arms, the biggest difference maker off the bench could be Sharpe, the 19-year-old rookie.

Sharpe is fantastically athletic, and is already sporting a shot release that’s extremely fluid. He’s obviously young and untested, having not played at all last season while he was attached to the program in Kentucky, but there’s a ton of potential there.

It would behoove the Blazers to slowly incorporate Sharpe more and more as the season progresses, as his 6’6 frame can slide in between positions, and he can provide an offensive boost, which should in handy as to not put too much on Lillard’s plate.

It does seem like the Blazers could use one more rotation piece even with Payton back and Sharpe growing more comfortable.

That’s where Keon Johnson enters the picture.

Johnson, just 20 years old, is admittedly raw and unpolished. During the preseason he averaged 8.4 points on 8.4 shot attempts, and his efficiency was also below standards last year.

That said, Johnson is a former first-round selection and has the ability to swing between positions like Sharpe. He needs development minutes, and likely the sooner the better if the Blazers hope to see a more ready version of him come April.

This isn’t to say Johnson should be locked in to play 20 minutes per game, but it does feel like a wasted opportunity, if he’s not given a chance, particularly over Winslow, who doesn’t have a high ceiling.

Regardless, the Blazers are now in a position to potentially make some noise. Lillard’s health has made sure of that. Now it’s up the coaching staff to provide him with as many weapons as possible moving forward.

Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.