#damian-lillard

#damian-lillard

Masai Ujiri and the Toronto Raptors may have had it rough this season after taking a step back, but they can take solace in the fact that they are having a better season than the Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference.Damian Lillard is averaging over 32 points per game, yet this team is in the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes.

The Boston Celtics got away with a win over the Timberwolves on Wednesday by the skin of their teeth, and on March 17, the Cs hope to honor St. Patrick with a victory on his unofficial holiday against the Blazers in Portland.Against Minnesota, things came down to the very last minute.Grant Williams won a controversial jump ball over Rudy Gobert, and Jayson Tatum iced the game with two free throws in the final two seconds - being given an extra technical foul shot due to Gobert's complaints about Williams potentially getting away with tapping the ball before it hit its peak in the air.

Here are this week's national NBA survey results from SB Nation Reacts.Our Washington Wizards team survey results were released yesterday.A decisive majority think the NBA's single game record COULD be broken again

Forty-two percent of our national respondents believe that Wilt Chamberlin's single game scoring record will never be broken again.

The Boston Celtics beat the Portland Trail Blazers on March 8 with a final score of 115-93.Here's what went down.Jayson Tatum showed up
Jayson Tatum seemingly used his rest days well, as he poured in a cool 30 points on 64.7% shooting, with 60% falling from beyond the arc.The superstar supplemented the scoring with seven rebounds and a +21 plus/minus.

The Boston Celtics are in the midst of their most brutal five-game stretch of the 2022-23 season so far, having lost four of their last five games - all to teams that are currently in Eastern Conference postseason slots.A chance for redemption comes March 8 with a matchup against a middling Trail Blazers team that is missing key contributors and coming into Wednesday with three wins in their last eight games.

After an eventful week for the middle to lower half of the Eastern Conference standings has seen the Washington Wizards fall from the sixth best odds for the top pick in the 2023 NBA draft to the ninth best.These are long odds, but not impossible.The top pick is all but guaranteed this year as one of the greatest prospects of all time is available.

The Lakers got blown out by the Trail Blazers, 127-115, thanks to an incredible 3-point shooting display by Portland, who hit a grand total of 23 triples on the night to run away with the victory.Yes, LeBron James was out again, but with Anthony Davis up against a depleted Portland frontline, a win not only seemed possible, but was downright expected.

The 72nd NBA All-Star Game will take place on Sunday.It seems each year there are new twists to the game and activities during the three-day celebration of the best basketball players in the world.This year is no exception.Here's what you need to know:
When: Sunday, 5:30 p.m. PST (TNT)
Where: Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City


All-Star Game twist

Four years ago the NBA decided to have the leading vote-getters in the East and West draft teams from the pools of starters and reserves.

Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images The dynasty is over.Team LeBron lost its undefeated mark and fell to 5-1 in All-Star Games where the captains selected their squads in a draft, as Team Giannis earned the 184-175 victory in Sunday's contest at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City.Jayson Tatum put on a show and won MVP with an All-Star Game-record 55 points, rewarding Giannis Antetokounmpo for selecting him in the draft that took place right before the game started.

It's been quite a roller-coaster week for the Lakers on and off the court.From crazy comebacks to multiple injuries and a big win for the playoff hopes, the week had a bit of everything.The end result is the Lakers being as close as they've been in a long time to the playoffs.Is that strong run indicative of the Lakers finally making a run to become a playoff team or one last push from a team that may be running out of steam?

The Toronto Raptors are going to be connected to many of the hottest names on the traded market, with the need to improve immediately becoming a necessity.OG Anunoby has been thrown back in the rumor mill, as Toronto is likely going to look for ways to recoup draft picks.Toronto might need to get the Portland Trail Blazers back on the horn.

The Lakers bouncing back with a win on Wednesday and a handful of results going their way in recent days has them in the eight seed and only 1.5 games removed from the sixth seed.And with a really important matchup on Friday and another big game next week, there is a realistic chance the Lakers avoid the play-in altogether.

On the second night of a back-to-back, the New York Knicks are still in Florida, this time to face the Orlando Magic.The Knicks find themselves in what has become a much too familiar situation, one in which the team has a pseudo-must-win game following a loss that many would describe as disappointing and frustrating.

After Thursday's win for the Lakers over the Suns, the fourth seed in the conference (Phoenix) and the 12th seed (Pelicans) are separated by three losses.It's really impossible to overstate how absurd this playoff race has been and will be in the final weeks of the season.Every game will be a big one for the Lakers moving forward, but a chance to win the season series and tiebreaker against the Thunder on Friday makes that game enormous as is.

When the Clippers arrived here late Saturday, they were without their winning streak and their coach.After coaching Saturday in a loss to Orlando in Los Angeles that ended the Clippers' turnaround at four consecutive wins, Tyronn Lue did not join the team on its flight to Oregon while recovering from what the team called a non-COVID-19 illness.

It doesn't get much better in the NBA than going to the home of the Lakers and leaving with a win in the back pocket.The Knicks did just that on Sunday night and now look to finish the road swing strong as they take on the Blazers tonight.New York will have revenge in the back of their minds after the Blazers stunned them in the Garden in overtime without Damian Lillard earlier this season.

There will be something new in the N.F.L. next year: nothing.Among the usual array of 12s and 88s and 97s dotting the league's fields next season will be some humble 0s after the league on Monday voted to allow that number on jerseys for the first time in decades.At least one player, Jaguars wide receiver Calvin Ridley, has already said he plans to wear No. 0. Zero's big cousin, 00, remains barred for now.

The Boston Celtics are in the middle of arguably their worst stretch of the 2022-23 season, but they have a chance to get a feel-good road win against a Portland Trail Blazers team that they dominated in Boston recently.Boston won't have center Robert Williams III in this game, and Jayson Tatum (hip) is listed as questionable.

Celtics It's the second year in a row Tatum will give the 3-point contest a shot.Jayson Tatum will participate in the NBA 3-point contest during All-Star weekend, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.Kevin Huerter, Tyler Herro, Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield, Damian Lillard, Anfernee Simons, and Utah's Lauri Markkanen will round out the field.

The Toronto Raptors raised some eyebrows when they traded a first-round pick to acquire Jakob Poeltl, but the early returns have been very promising.Poeltl has been a defensive standout that is coming off his best offensive game as a pro.Poeltl recorded 30 points on 15-17 shooting in a victory against the Orlando Magic, pulling down nine rebounds and blocking six shots while he was at it.

Tyler Herro has accepted an invitation to the 2023 NBA All-Star weekend 's 3 point contest.Herro will be going up against Jayson Tatum, Damian Lillard, Kevin Huerter, Buddy Hield, Tyrese Haliburton, Anfernee Simons and Lauri Markkanen.It is not expected for Herro's knee contusion to keep him out of participating.

Celtics He drew some laughs when he pump-faked on one shot.Jayson Tatum went first in the NBA's 3-Point Contest on Saturday and turned in a respectable showing with 20 points.Pacers teammates Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield passed him, Lauri Markkanen tied him, then it came down to Damian Lillard to decide whether Tatum advanced.

As the NBA All-Star game occurs in Salt Lake City, the Miami Heat do have representation.With the big man, Bam Adebayo, making his second NBA All-Star appearance they will be well represented on Sunday night.And though they were well represented on Saturday night as well, it wasn't, at all, the best showing.

The NBA might have itself a problem.Sunday night, following a woefully boring All-Star Game devoid of defense in any real shape or form, league officials kept landing on a word to describe what had transpired earlier in the night."Embarrassing."All-Star weekend, one of the NBA's marquee showcases alongside Christmas Day and the playoffs, was once again an emotionless mess - the best players in the NBA allowing one another to either score on unchecked layups and dunks or comically long jumpers while the crowd largely shrugged.

Alex Goodlett/Getty Images Jayson Tatum set an All-Star Game record with 55 points, led Team Giannis to a 184-175 victory over Team LeBron and won the event's MVP award, named after his idol, Kobe Bryant."It means the world to me," he told reporters."... Everybody knows how much [Kobe] meant to me.

This week, the NBA announced the KIA Player of the Month awards for each conference.February's honors went to Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić and New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson.Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić and New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson have been named the Kia NBA Western and Eastern Conference Players of the Month, respectively, for games played in February.

Across his many years in the NBA, Patrick Beverley has accrued a rival or two along the way.Russell Westbrook went from fiercest villain to best of friends (allegedly) this season, leaving really only one man to capture Pat Bev's ire.Damian Lillard.The two have had some memorable run-ins but none more so in the bubble when the Clippers and Blazers jawed at one another throughout.

It's not a hot take to say that the OG Anunoby Toronto Raptors have had a brutal first half of the season.Sitting at the No. 11 seed with a 20-25 record, this team has come down to earth after a surprisingly successful season last year.The Raptors have been involved in trade rumors all season, but for all the wrong reasons.