Damian Lillard is Back, and the Trail Blazers are Back on Track
Lillard's return to the lineup is a welcome sight as the Blazers took care of business against the Pacers.
PORTLAND, Ore. — It took until the league's lineup-submission deadline for the Trail Blazers to make Damian Lillard's return official, but it didn't take long for him to announce he was back.
On his first shot of the night, a minute into the Blazers' 116-100 win over the Indiana Pacers, he elevated over some tight defense from Andrew Nembhard to knock down a corner three. He missed a deep pull-up three attempt on the following possession. Two in a row would have set the Moda Center on fire. But by and large, Lillard looked like himself on Sunday, and they needed that shot in the arm in the worst way.
"He completely changes how we play," Jerami Grant said after the game. "The ball is moving around a lot. It makes the game easier when he's with us."
Lillard's return came at the perfect time in the Blazers' schedule. Before Saturday, they had lost seven of eight, including six without him and dropped from 10-4 to 11-11. Last night, they grinded out a win over the Jazz on the road to stop the bleeding. Sunday, with Lillard back in the lineup, things looked like they're getting back on track.
Lillard was terrific in his return after re-aggravating his right calf on Nov. 19. But he wasn't Portland's leading scorer. He wasn't their second-leading scorer, either. Jerami Grant had 28 points and Anfernee Simons had 22. Lillard finished with 21 on 7-of-16 shooting, knocking down five 3-pointers and adding four rebounds and six assists.
Physically, he looked unbothered by the calf issue, and he confirmed after the game that he didn't feel limited. It would seem to validate what we've thought and written: he wanted to play a week ago, but the medical staff is being extra-cautious. With three days off before Thursday's game against Denver, everyone is comfortable with where Lillard is.
It helps that he's not coming back into a situation where the Blazers' only hope of winning is if he goes for 40. With Grant and Simons, he has more weapons around him than he's had since at least the LaMarcus Aldridge-Wesley Matthews-Nicolas Batum years. He's playing off the ball now more than he ever has, letting Grant and Simons get theirs. It's how he's managing not only his health for the long haul but the comfort level of his teammates.
And at this point in his career, that's how he likes it.
"I watch a lot of film," Lillard said. "Even when I haven't been playing, I watch the games. When I'm on the bench, I pay attention to the game. When I'm in the huddle, I'm seeing what Chauncey is saying. I know how to be present. I know how to have an impact on the game and be myself in whatever is going on. This is the first time we've had it this way. We've all had 40 points this way. It shows the ability that we have.
"For me, it's a luxury. It's my job to embrace that and allow Ant to be aggressive and find spots, allow Jerami to be aggressive and find spots. And then me as the experienced person, I've done it over and over and over, it makes no sense for me to over-exert myself and do more than I have to. If we're really gonna win, it has to be collective. It's really encouraging for me to see it unfold, that we've really got pieces and we've got the ability to play that way."
It's been several weeks since the Blazers had "League's Biggest Surprise" status. The combination of injuries, long road trips and defensive regression have put them right back in the tangle of Western Conference playoff hopefuls. Two days ago, they were outside the top 10. Today, they're back in the top eight. A few more wins this week at home and they might be back in the top four. But their feeling is that the worst of this forgettable stretch is behind them.
"I think this is what we need," Lillard said. "If we're going to accomplish what we want to accomplish, you have to get tried. And I think we're getting tested from every angle. We've had injuries, we've had a tough schedule, just unfortunate situations. The fact that we get through these first 24 games and we're 13-11, two games above .500 and trending in the right direction, I think we've got to be pleased with where we are."
What We Saw
For paid subscribers, notes, thoughts and observations from the game, plus the Jersey of the Night:
Tyrese Haliburton missed his first game since being traded to Indiana at last season's deadline. He was out with a groin injury, and it wasn't an insignificant absence given how well he's been playing for a surprising Pacers team. Along with Anfernee Simons, Haliburton is an early frontrunner for Most Improved Player.
The Pacers picked right before Portland in June's draft and took Bennedict Mathurin with the No. 6 overall pick. Mathurin has been outstanding this season, winning Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month in November and providing consistent scoring off the bench. I asked Pacers coach Rick Carlisle for his early impressions of Shaedon Sharpe, who went one pick later. "He had a great workout with us," Carlisle said. "He found himself a very good situation [in Portland] with some veteran guys that have his kind of explosiveness and abilities and can mentor him and bring him along. But in terms of pure ability, skill, talent, he was one of those guys that was top of the list in terms of having all of those components. People hadn't seen him much, because there wasn't a whole lot of film on him. But we loved his workout at our place. He was a guy that was being heavily considered for us, too." I think both teams are happy with how the draft shook out.
Myles Turner had a great game for Indiana, scoring 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting and hitting three 3-pointers along with nine rebounds. File that away for about two months from now.
A mixed bag for Jusuf Nurkic, who had a good box-score game (19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, six rebounds, four assists and a block) but got lost on a few defensive rotations that upset Billups. File that away, too.
Josh Hart returned to the lineup after missing two games with a sprained left ankle. He still could barely move, but he got through the game and had a very Josh Hart stat line: 11 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals. "That dude is just a warrior," Billups said. "We feed off of his edge, his toughness, his grit. He's established himself as the heart and soul of our team, pretty much every night. We missed him when he was out. But if he can jog, he's gonna play. That's what we've grown accustomed to expecting out of him."
Drew Eubanks also returned, but his back tightened up in the second half and he couldn't do much. "He didn't move well at all out there," Billups said. "I didn't think Drew would play today. He kept telling me, 'Coach, I'm fine.' I kept second-guessing putting him back in in the second half. I did for a second and said, 'OK, you can tell he's hurt.' I had to protect him from himself."
The Blazers have three days off before their next game against Denver. They're going to take a day or two off to rest, but Billups said he was happy to be able to finally get some real practices in again after a hectic stretch of travel and back-to-backs.
Jersey of the Night
On the anniversary. If you know, you know.
