Don’t look now, but the Portland Trailblazers are the third seed in the Western Conference.
They hold this seed despite the doubts going into the season that they wouldn’t even make the playoffs, despite the formation of new super teams in the west such as the Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder.
It’s safe to say that the Trailblazers success has mostly been the result of the spectacular play from point guard Damian Lillard. Lillard is quietly one of the best guards in the league. If he played in a city with a bigger market value such as Los Angeles or Boston, he would be a household name in the company of Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry and Kyrie Irving.
The Trailblazers have been one of the hottest teams in the NBA since February, winning 13 of their last 14. During this stretch, Lillard has averaged 33 points-per-game, 6 assists and 4 rebounds. His shooting percentage from the three-point line has been excellent at 40 percent and he’s shot 46 percent from the floor in general. He is getting hot just at the right time as the playoffs approach.
During this stretch, the Trailblazers beat the Golden State Warriors twice. Once on Valentine’s Day which snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Warriors. Lillard had to score 44 points but they showed the league that they can not only hang among the best teams in the NBA, but they can beat them when everything is clicking offensively. Lillard also led a fourth quarter comeback against the Los Angeles Lakers on March 5 where he scored 19 of his 39 points in the final quarter. 12 of those points came off four-consecutive three-pointers in less than two minutes. Offensively, he is one of the best players in the game and he only gets better the bigger the moment.
Lillard has quietly been an MVP candidate this season. He’s averaging 27 points-per-game, 4.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists per-game. He’s in the top 10 in win shares, plus/minus and value over replacement player. The impact he’s had on the Trailblazers has led them to be one of the best teams in the Western Conference with a (39-26) record.
Lillard has been phenomenal, but the Trailblazers wouldn’t be where they are now without his partner in the backcourt, C.J. McCollum. McCollum has risen to a star in the NBA and is a part of one of the NBA’s most talented backcourts. Along with Lillard’s contributions, McCollum is averaging 22 points-per-game and shooting 42 percent from the three-point line. That consistency from behind the arc makes the Trailblazers a very dangerous team offensively.
The Trailblazers may have the third seed right now, but they’re really going to have to earn it as the season comes to an end. They have a tough finale as their opponents combined winning percentage is .554 with two matchups against Houston and having to play Cleveland, Boston, and San Antonio. In a conference where the eighth seed is only 3.5 games back from them, a couple of losses could be disastrous for their playoff seeding.