There are a few players in the NBA that you as a fan of the opposition, hate to see with the ball in their hands in the clutch. You just know they’re gonna hit that big shot to sink your team and you’re desperately hoping that someone takes the ball off them.
One such individual is Damian Lillard who has hit some big shots in his career. He, in fact, ranks in the top 5 for most clutch shots made since 2012 along with the likes of Stephen Curry and LeBron James. The Portland Trail Blazers have been more than happy to let Dame take the crucial clutch shots over the years, but on Tuesday night, their players bizarrely ignored him in the final sequence of play against the Orlando Magic. Dame brought the ball up with the team down 3 but in the frantic sequence that followed, he only touched the ball once and that was on a missed shot.
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) January 11, 2023
Both Jerami Grant and Anfernee Simons could have passed to Lillard who was open but they weren’t thinking right with time winding down. A Jusuf Nurkic corner 3 and a Simons pull-up three-pointer from 30 feet aren’t the kind of shots you want to see in those situations, especially when Dame is on the court. Grant, in particular, should have just taken a second to calm down and find Lillard instead of being in a hurry to make a play.
Damian Lillard Called Out His Team
The Blazers had a solid start to the season as they were 17-13 at one point in mid-December, but they’ve lost their way in recent weeks. They have suffered defeats in 8 of their last 10 games to fall to 19-21, which has seen them drop out from even the play-in spots.
During this torrid run, Lillard called out his team for not bringing it every night as he indicated they don’t have an identity at this point. The rest of the team really needs to get their act together if the Blazers are to avoid another disappointing end to the season.
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