Blazers coach confirms Damian Lillard is playing Game 3

Damian Lillard is not going to miss Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Portland Trail Blazers were embarrassed by the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday. The final score of 111-88 took away the excitement from Game 1 and showed why the Lakers are the top seed in the West.

Damian Lillard did not play up to his bubble expectations, finishing with 18 points in 30 minutes. His night got even worse when it was announced he had a dislocated finger.

It will take more than this finger injury to keep Lillard off the court and he insinuated that following the game. Blazers head coach Terry Stotts confirmed that news Friday.

Damian Lillard will not be held out for Game 3.

Lillard has been playing out of his mind in the bubble. He already has a 61-point game to his name and dropped 34 points in the surprising Game 1 victory over the Lakers. The Blazers stand no chance without him and his heroic shots, and he knows it.

The injury is to his left index finger, which is much better than it being on his shooting hand. Any injury is bad, but this shouldn’t slow down Lillard all that much.

Thursday was an off night for Lillard in the three quarters he did play. He only went 1-7 from three-point range and it was clear the Lakers were playing the proper defensive strategy of forcing the ball out of his hands. A few teams in Orlando failed to pick him up when he crossed half-court and they paid dearly for that mistake.

The entire Blazers team will need to be better in Game 3 and that includes Lillard. 18 points isn’t going to cut it and neither will the two points scored by Carmelo Anthony in 27 minutes. Jusuf Nurkic failed to reach double-digits as well.

Game 2 was one bad game and the series is now tied up. Having Lillard on the floor is always an advantage and we will all see how much the injured finger changes his game, if at all.