Trail Blazers Are Wasting Damian Lillard's Prime

Damian Lillard went absolutely nuclear on Tuesday night, but it wasn’t enough for the Portland Trail Blazers to beat the Denver Nuggets in double overtime in Game 5.

Lillard carried the Blazers in overtime and double overtime after he hit the game-tying 3-pointer in regulation. On the night, Lillard hit 12 3-pointers, which is an NBA playoff record, and he made me look pretty smart for taking the over on his 4.5 3-point player prop. 

However, the Blazers wilted around him, and now have their backs against the wall in the series. Just look at how bad these numbers are from the rest of the Blazers in the extra sessions:

Portland now has +185 odds on WynnBET to beat Denver (-300) in the series, and I can’t help but wonder how much longer Lillard is going to waste away in Portland. 

The Blazers have tried to improve their roster around Dame, but the additions (Jusuf Nurkic, Carmelo Anthony, Norman Powell and others) simply haven’t been big enough. CJ McCollum isn’t a top-tier co-star (he struggled mightily last night going just 7-for-22), and the Blazers missed badly with the Zach Collins pick a few years back. 

It has amounted to the Blazers making only one Western Conference Finals appearance in Lillard’s career, and they are staring down their fourth first-round exit in the past five years. 

The Blazers are stuck in neutral despite having one of the league’s top players, and it begs the question of whether or not they will ever get the right team around him.

Dame has been committed to Portland, and has a four-year extension coming after this season. However, if the Blazers don’t maximize these next couple of seasons, they’re in danger of burning through Dame’s prime with nothing to show for it. 

Moving McCollum or Nurkic for a bigger piece would help, but the draft capital that would also have to be on the move in order to gain a significant upgrade could cripple the franchise if a move doesn’t work out. 

The Blazers can still win this series, but when you waste a performance like Lillard’s in Game 5, it doesn’t bode well for your chances moving forward. We know that Dame wants to stay in Portland, but it may be time to start wondering if he wants to explore a new chance to win an NBA title.