Can Damian Lillard Win a Title in Portland?
CJ McCollum summed up Damian Lillard’s historic performance in Denver last night better than anyone in his postgame presser. “It’s a shame we wasted one of the best performances you’ll ever see,” the guard said. McCollum’s turnover with 37 seconds left in the 2nd overtime sealed the Blazers’ fate as they lost 147-140 to fall into a 3-2 deficit in their series with the Nuggets.
Dame’s efforts to force overtime, erase a 9 point deficit to force the 2nd overtime, and keep the Blazers in it until that McCollum turnover was exemplary. I would put it up there with LeBron’s 47 Special and his 51 point game 1 performance of the 2018 NBA Finals as one of the best individual playoff performances of the last 20 years. When asked about the performance in the post-game presser, Dame was blunt, saying, “It don’t matter. We lost the game. At this point all that matters is we can’t lose another game in the series.”
The Blazers can still win this series. They just punked Denver in Game 4, and their role guys will be motivated to deliver a spirited performance to stave off elimination in front of their home fans. If I was a gambler, I’d bet on CJ McCollum going for 25 or more in the next game to relieve Lillard of some of the offensive burden. If they can triumph in a 7 game series, the team must know that this is their best chance to make another sneaky run to the conference finals: the Lakers are about to be bounced after injuries to AD and LeBron, and even the Suns are hobbled with Chris Paul battling a shoulder injury. If not now for the Blazers, then when?
For Dame, however, a title feels increasingly unlikely in Portland. The Blazers are not good enough defensively to mount a serious title challenge. They were ranked 23rd in defensive points per game and 29th in defensive rating.
General Manager Neil Oshey upgraded the team’s wings by bringing Robert Covington in the offseason and Norman Powell at the deadline. Still, it’s not enough with two undersized guards in the backcourt who expend so much of their energy on offense. They had better luck health-wise this season than in years past, too, and still had to win on the last day of the regular season to secure the 6th seed.
We learned right before the playoffs that Terry Stotts could be replaced in the offseason, but that feels like a hail mary for a team that has hit its peak. The Blazers are never going to be a free agency destination in Portland.
They are too good to get a franchise-altering talent in the draft and lack the trade chips to poach another team’s star. McCollum is probably their best trade chip, but it is unlikely they can get another asset that turns them into a serious contender again. Dame’s supporting cast of McCollum, Jusuf Nurkic, Norman Powell, and RoCo is actually solid, but they are down now against a short-handed Nuggets team missing its starting backcourt. What are they going to do against the Suns or a healthy Clippers team?
Dame has been adamant about not chasing rings. He doesn’t want to team up with stars or force his way out of town. He would never disrespect his teammates nor his fans by quitting on them the way other elite players have in the past. It’s admirable, and from a fan’s point of view, I’d love it if more superstars felt the same way. Some stars only know how to take from an organization; Dame seems to have helped shape the Blazers in the same way Tim Duncan helped mold the Spurs, or how Steph has put his imprint on the Golden State Warriors.
But shouldn’t that commitment and effort yield a title at some point? Portland’s best chance at a title came during their 2019 campaign, a season that ended in a sweep courtesy of the Kevin Durant-less Warriors. Two years later, both LA teams, the Jazz, Suns, Nuggets, and the Mavericks have surpassed them. If Klay Thompson returns to form, Golden State is probably a better team too, plus the Grizzlies and Pelicans figure to join the fray sooner than later. Where Portland fits in the pecking order in the future is unclear. Sure, you figure that Dame will keep them in the playoff picture, and he’s an ideal player to have in a play-in tournament scenario. But Dame is too good to be on the periphery of contention. If these Blazers had another gear, wouldn’t we have seen it already?
Portland’s constraints and an increasingly competitive Western Conference likely means Dame never makes the Finals. If Dame were 25 and putting up an electrifying performance like he did last night, we’d be wondering how the Blazers could build a better team around him. At 30, it’s fair to wonder if that ship has sailed. What could he accomplish if he moved on? Imagine Dame teaming up with Joel Embiid in Philly or Kawhi in LA. What could he do with a rejuvenated Knicks franchise that desperately needs an upgrade at lead guard? Or what if Boston pushed in all of its chips to team him up with budding superstar Jayson Tatum?
Maybe another playoff disappointment alters Lillard’s outlook on ring chasing. He’s clearly the best point guard in these playoffs and one of the 10 best players in this league. He has given Portland everything and become a legend in the process. He’s got nothing more to prove, but plenty he can still achieve. Whether he can achieve those things in Portland, however, is doubtful.