Hoops Habit
Fansided

NBA Player Power Rankings: Who’s Hot, Who’s Not?

By Maxwell Ogden

January 4, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) reacts after shooting a three-point shot during the fourth quarter against the Charlotte Hornets at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Hornets 111-101. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
January 4, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) reacts after shooting a three-point shot during the fourth quarter against the Charlotte Hornets at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Hornets 111-101. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
8 of 23
Next
Jan 10, 2016; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) celebrates after hitting a three point shot during the fourth quarter of the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Moda Center at the Rose Quarter. The Blazers won the game 115-110. Mandatory Credit: Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 10, 2016; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) celebrates after hitting a three point shot during the fourth quarter of the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Moda Center at the Rose Quarter. The Blazers won the game 115-110. Mandatory Credit: Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports /

16. Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers

Last Rank: No. 17

Position: Point Guard

Age: 25

Slash Line: .417/.379/.880

Season Averages: 36.5 MPG, 24.7 PPG, 7.1 APG, 4.6 RPG, 1.0 SPG, 3.1 3PM

Verdict: Hot

Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers are one of the 2015-16 NBA regular season’s early underachievers. They’ve been aided tremendously by how weak the bottom half of the Western Conference has been, but one can’t change their surroundings.

What they can do is play at a superstar level, and that’s what Lillard did over the past week.

Lillard dropped 40 points and 10 assists in a highly-anticipated matchup with Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors. He followed that eruption by posting 31 points, nine assists, seven rebounds, and two steals on 9-of-18 shooting in a 110-105 upset of Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Lillard completed his statement week with 21 points, 10 assists, seven boards, two steals and a block on 8-of-14 shooting in 29 minutes of a 99-85 victory over the Utah Jazz.

It was only three games, but two of them were played against Top 5 players and genuinely elite point guards. Lillard has always stepped up in the biggest of moments, and this was yet another example of the clutch gene being present in his blood.

Lillard is Top 10 in both points and assists per game, and that’s enough to guarantee his spot in the Top 20.

Next: Doing It All