#damian-lillard

#damian-lillard

Damian Lillard has cemented himself as perhaps the greatest Portland Trail Blazer of all time after passing Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler to become the all-time scoring leader in franchise history.Lillard (18,047 career points) entered Paycom Arena 21 points short of passing Drexler (18,040 points as a Blazer).

Celtics Brian Windhorst expects Jaylen Brown to remain a Boston Celtic.Jaylen Brown has one year left on his deal with the Celtics and is eligible to sign a supermax extension next summer if it is offered to him.But, after an atrocious performance during the Eastern Conference Finals, there are questions about whether Boston should offer him that kind of money.

The Toronto Raptors and Portland Trail Blazers might end up consummating a huge trade that forces both of these franchises to make huge pivots in their long-term directions.The Raptors are eyeing a retool that could see them change their entire roster, while the Blazers want to build around Damian Lillard.

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.

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.

Nick Nurse said a revealing thing before Jakob Poeltl's first game (of his second stint) as a Toronto Raptor:
"I'll just be interested to see how we end up using him or how we feel like it's best to use him defensively," he said."He was sitting in drop coverage, deep, deep drop coverage most of the season...

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.

The Miami Heat has been a model franchise in the NBA for the past two decades.During that span, they've won three NBA Championships, seven NBA Finals appearances, nine conference finals appearances, and have missed the playoffs just four times.While a big reason for the Heat's success over the last 20 years has been their stars (Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O'Neal, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Jimmy Butler, and Bam Adebayo), they also wouldn't have accumulated all of that success if it wasn't for what could be described as the league's best developmental system.

Tyler Herro is younger and cheaper than Bradley Beal, but should the Miami Heat trade him to make the most of Jimmy Butler's window anyway?Another summer, another round of trade rumors involving Bradley Beal and Tyler Herro.Both guards have been the subject of trade chatter for the last several years but, this time, it appears a move is likely to happen.

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 Miami Heat have a chance to bounce back from Friday night's loss to the Indiana Pacers with a matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers.This is the second and final time these two will meet this season.Miami was able to pull away with a big W in Portland not too long ago, and will look to replicate that success tonight.

With no draft picks and extremely limited cap space at their disposal, I can't exactly say I'm surprised to see more attention than usual diverted to the trade block as the Chicago Bulls look to overhaul their roster this summer.Although making trades and shaking up the roster is understandable given their poor performance last season, it's still a shock to see the Bulls' best player in DeMar DeRozan being the subject matter of which players need to be sent packing.

The Chicago Bulls have plenty to think about this offseason, especially after a disappointing season where they were unable to make it to the playoffs.Various reports have come out that the Bulls are expecting to retool their roster around Zach LaVine, and this has understandably caused an avalanche of rumors surrounding the team's roster going into next season.

Following a disappointing 40-42 season and prompt elimination in the play-in tournament, please excuse me if I join many other fans when I say I'm ready to put this year behind us and look forward to the future.The Chicago Bulls' options this summer may be limited, but at this point, standing pat and not making any moves in either direction would be an abject failure for the franchise.

The Toronto Raptors may have the No. 13 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, but that doesn't mean they are automatically going to be locked into taking just one player in this lottery.With trade rumors afoot once again surrounding players like OG Anunoby, Toronto could be eyeing another draft pick.The Raptors and Portland Trail Blazers have been linked together for quite some time, as the Blazers appear ready to trade away the No. 3 overall pick in order to get one more starter to help Damian Lillard compete for a championship.

By Eric Samulski Posted on May 10, 2023 New York Knicks forward Julius Randle (30) celebrates after scoring during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Miami Heat, Friday, March 3, 2023, in Miami.(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee) Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams Even with the New York Knicks being one loss away from elimination, tonight brought a small moment of celebration for the organization with power forward Julius Randle being named to the All-NBA third team.

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.

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.

As the NBA Draft and offseason are fast approaching, trade speculations around the league are in full swing.Shams Charania of the Athletic reported that the New Orleans Pelicans are interested in moving up to the top three of the NBA Draft to select guard Scoot Henderson.The most likely pick available in the top three is the no.3 that belongs to the Portland Trail Blazers.

As recently reported by NBA Insider Shams Charania, the New Orleans Pelicans are going to be aggressive in trying to get Scoot Henderson.Since the Charlotte Hornets are unlikely to trade away their second pick, it leaves the Portland Trailblazers.However, they may need a third team to get the deal done.

In a recent live video on Bleacher Report there were six different proposed trades focused on the Washington Wizards.From trying to contend to jumping into a rebuild, there was little bit of everything being proposed.Most of the trades, however, were focused on a rebuild.This does make sense though.

Kyle Kuzma was a force in his return to the Wizards' lineup Tuesday with 33 points and six three-pointers in Washington's rout.(AP Photo/Steve Dykes)PORTLAND - Kyle Kuzma missed the four games before Tuesday's with a sprained left ankle, meaning he was unable to participate in Washington's recent streak of flaming hot shooting.

Sarah Stier/Getty Images The Portland Trail Blazers may want to get help for Damian Lillard this offseason, but it doesn't seem like a Mikal Bridges trade is going to be an option for them.Per The Athletic's Alex Schiffer, the Nets "aren't interested" in dealing Bridges to Portland even after the results of the 2023 NBA draft lottery.

The margin for error against good teams is slim.There is no margin for error against great teams.Kevin Durant quickly noted that while the Nets have turned a corner in the win column, winning four games in a row and seven of their last nine after starting the season 2-6, they had done so largely against middle of the pack competition.

Stephen Curry's off-court work promoting youth literacy and fighting for gender equity in sports has been well-known for years.But now he's receiving an honor recognizing his work in the community.The Professional Basketball Writers Association on Thursday named Curry as the recipient of this year's J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award.

For three-and-a-half quarters, the Warriors put together a focused and poised effort in their second consecutive game without Steph Curry.But systems collapsed late in the fourth quarter, leading to Golden State's 125-122 loss to the Trail Blazers in Portland on Wednesday night.Unhelpful to the Warriors' run for a rare road victory (they have just eight) was a four-plus-minute scoring drought late in the fourth quarter, negating a handful of stops the defense managed, including a huge block by Draymond Green at the rim.

Was the basketball good?Not particularly.But Sunday's win was vital for the Warriors, and in that 109-104 victory over the Timberwolves, the Dubs showed something that is just as important as good execution: scrappiness.The Warriors don't have anything close to their full coterie of stars, and they predictably fell behind the Timberwolves by double digits to start the first and second halves.

SAN FRANCISCO  Jordan Poole and Klay Thompson made sure the Warriors would be ringing in the new year on a season-long win streak.The Warriors overcame a double-figure deficit for the second consecutive game to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 118-112 Friday night.Poole scored 41 points and Thompson added 31 and knocked down seven 3s to help Golden State win its fourth consecutive game and fifth game since Stephen Curry went down with a shoulder injury earlier this month.

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 Warriors have been trying out something new over the last five games: It's called effort, and it seems to be pretty powerful.Without Steph Curry and Andrew Wiggins, the Warriors have won five straight games and surged from the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference standings a play-in tournament spot to No. 5, on the cusp of first-round home-court advantage.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Knicks end their Western Conference road trip Tuesday night in Portland against the Trail Blazers.Damian Lillard will play.Crap.Game is at 10:00 PM on MSG.Here's Blazer's Edge if you want to do some recon.Please don't post any illegal streams.Be nice to each other.Go the Knicks!

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.

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 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.

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?

Last week, I built a parlay that I tried to base on stats and historical precedent and said that if we lost, it'd come because of a historical performance.So Anthony Davis went out and did something entirely unprecedented in NBA history.Right.Lesson learned.Still, if we had just taken the over on rebounds, we'd have hit.

Anthony Davis has been nothing short of great this season for the Lakers.Defensively, he's held a Lakers roster comprised largely of guards and devoid of wings and forwards.Offensively, while his jumper still hasn't found consistency, he's embraced playing center and flourished in doing so, shooting 52.9% from the field.

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.

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.

Morning Sports Update McCourty also theorized about a possible addition at wide receiver.Tonight, the Celtics face the Knicks in New York at 7:30 p.m.An hour after that, the Bruins will be in Edmonton to play the Oilers at 8:30 p.m.
Devin McCourty's appearance on "Good Morning Football": Having completed his 13th season in the NFL - all spent with the Patriots - safety Devin McCourty remains undecided about his future in football.

On March 8, Jayson Tatum 30-point game leads the Boston Celtics to a victory over the Trail Blazers 115-93.The Celtics desperately needed a win, as they were on a three-game losing streak.Celtics big man Robert Williams misses his third straight game as he is recovering from a left hamstring strain.

LET'S GO, TRIVIA LOVERS!It's time once again to put your brainy-brain to the test with this week's edition of POP QUIZ PDX-our weekly, local, sassy-ass trivia quiz.And this week, you'll test your amazing knowledge on such topics as the latest shenanigans from our terrible city council, yet another astounding achievement for Damian Lillard, and queries about Oregon celebs!

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.

The Boston Celtics will welcome the Trail Blazers to TD Garden tonight in what seems like a must-win game to start to regain momentum for a team that has lost four of its last five games.Here's how they can get the win.Marcus Smart has to contain Damian Lillard
It's no secret that Marcus Smart will be tasked with guarding the best player tonight.

It's not surprising that Damian Lillard wanted his entire family present when the Portland Trailblazers held a post-game celebration recognizing his new title as the Blazers' all-time leading scorer.As a player, he's always been open about how important family is to him and how he was able to take his parenting game to a whole new level last season while recovering from an abdominal injury.

The New York Giants couldn't come through with a win on Thanksgiving Day so hopefully the Knicks can give us something to enjoy while we finish off our Thanksgiving Day leftovers.They'll look to get back over .500tonight against the 10-8 Portland Trail Blazers at home.PROJECTED STARTERS
Anfernee Simon (6'3", 181 lb.), the fifth year pro, has started in every game he's been available in this year and he'll do the same tonight.

The Miami Heat are back in Miami, following a close, 101-99, loss to the Indiana Pacers, as they get set to take on the Portland Trail Blazers at the FTX Arena.This will be the second matchup between these two teams this season after Miami picked up a, 119-98, victory in Portland.Here are a few players to watch in this one.