NBA Rookie of the Year Damian Lillard has an incredible season for the Portland Trail Blazers last year, averaging 19.0 points and 6.5 assists. The team didn’t close out the season strong, though, and dropped 13 consecutive games down the stretch to fall out of contention for the eighth seed in the Western Conference.
However, with the signing of Mo Williams and the drafting of CJ McCollum adding more depth to the awful Blazers bench, Lillard is confident about next season:
"I am excited, I think playing with C.J. is going to be good for both of us. We will have different options now. I can play off the ball, he can play off the ball. All the guys we have, it is going to make us that much tougher to defend. (Sporting News)"
Lillard also said that now that he has a full year under his belt — in which he led the league in minutes played — he’s knows even more about what to expect in the NBA:
"It is a big difference just having gone through a season. Last summer, I was really prepared. I was doing a lot of work, I thought I was putting in enough time to make myself better. I was doing the things I always did when it came to working on my game. But I think once you go through it, you have a better idea of what you want to work on. My expectations are going to be higher, for me and for my team. I want to be an All-Star. I want to make the playoffs."
As a Portland fan, I’m a bit cautious about getting my hopes up. I don’t know if there is a Higher Power up above, but if there is, He/She/It certainly hates the knees of anyone who plays for Portland.
[Source: Sporting News]