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Week 22 Player Rankings: Point Guards Rule

By Chris Reichert

Mar 23, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (7) celebrates a win as Atlanta Hawks center Pero Antic (6) walks off the court at the Air Canada Centre. Toronto defeated Atlanta 96-86. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 23, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (7) celebrates a win as Atlanta Hawks center Pero Antic (6) walks off the court at the Air Canada Centre. Toronto defeated Atlanta 96-86. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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20. Damian Lillard

Mar 30, 2014; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) shoots the ball over Memphis Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph (50) during the third quarter at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 30, 2014; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) shoots the ball over Memphis Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph (50) during the third quarter at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports /

Twentieth? Yes, 20th. This is not to slight Dame in any way; there are just better options out there. Lillard has enjoyed a stellar sophomore season and he’s still only 23 years old! Lillard is averaging 21 points per contest with 5.5 assists while displaying a true shooting percentage (a metric that evaluates 2-point, 3-point and free throw field goals) of 56.7 percent — league average is 53.9. Considering how much Lillard is relied upon in this Portland offense that’s an amazing number for his shooting.

The next step in Lillard’s maturation will be how well he handles the playoff spotlight. In his rookie campaign with Portland they only won 33 games and didn’t sniff the playoffs. They took poised to nab a spot somewhere from fifth and eighth, which means they won’t have home court, but can still make some noise.