Portland Trail Blazers: Who should’ve joined Damian Lillard for All-Star weekend?
By Ty Delbridge
NBA All-Star weekend is here. Starting this Friday, Feb.16 to Sunday, Feb.18. The best players in the NBA will all be in Los Angeles for the weekend. Besides Damian Lillard, what other Portland Trail Blazer should be in L.A.?
The first day of 2018 NBA All-Star weekend is the NBA Celebrity game and the Rising Stars Game, USA vs. The World on Friday night.
The second day is All-Star Saturday night. This is when the Skills Challenge, 3-Point Contest, and the Slam Dunk Contest happen. The third day is the 67th NBA All-Star game, featuring Team LeBron vs. Team Steph.
As everyone knows by now, Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard was selected to play in his third All-Star game as a Western Conference reserve and a member of “Team Curry.”
The participants for the events Saturday night were announced, and no other Blazers players were selected to partake.
Which Blazers player could have been participating in this year’s events?
In the past, the Blazers have had a few players participate in the Saturday night events.
- Wes Matthews: 3-Point Contest (2015)
- Damian Lillard: Skills Challenge winner (2013), Skills Challenge winner, (2014), 3-Point Contest (2014), Slam Dunk Contest (2014) and the All-Star game (2014, 2015)
- C.J. McCollum: Skills Challenge (2016), 3-Point Contest (2016, 2017)
First event: Taco Bell Skills Challenge
Damian Lillard. Why?
He is a two-time winner of this event and one of the most talented and fastest guards in the NBA. Lillard is tied with Steve Nash and Dwyane Wade, who each have also won this event twice. He should get a shot to be the first three-time winner of the competition.
C.J. McCollum. Why?
McCollum has some of the craziest handles in the NBA and is very quick with the ball. He can throw sharp passes and is a sniper at the top of the 3-point line. McCollum should find his way back into this event in the future.
Evan Turner. Why?
Turner has excellent handles, is a skillful player and would thrive in a competition setting. Turner would struggle with the 3-point shot at the end, but he is coming off a hot month of Jan. where he shot 46.2 percent from the 3-point line.
Second event: JBL 3-Point Contest
C.J. McCollum. Why?
McCollum had been in this contest two years in a row before missing it this year. He is top 20 in the NBA in 3-point shooting at 42.1 percent. He has a beautiful and quick jump shot, and those tools are needed to win the contest.
Damian Lillard. Why?
Lillard is one of the top shooters in the NBA. He is sixth in the NBA with 419 3-point attempts and is knocking down 37.0 percent of his 3-point shots. Dame is one of the deadliest shooters in the NBA, and there may be nobody better than him when he gets hot.
Shabazz Napier. Why?
Napier is having a breakout season and is shooting lights out for the Blazers. He is shooting 40.3 percent from 3 this season. Napier is another guy who would thrive in a contest setting and can get hot if he finds his rhythm. Napier would be a dark horse but might surprise some people. I would like to see Napier participate in this event one year.
Third event: Verizon Slam Dunk Contest
Maurice Harkless. Why?
Harkless is one of the best athletes on the team. He has shown the ability to throw down some powerful dunks in a game, so it would be fun to see Harkless get creative and throw down a sweet dunk in the contest.
Damian Lillard. Why?
Damian Lillard may be 6’3″, but he can jump with the best of them. He has done this event before, but it was formatted entirely different that year. Regardless, Lillard proved to the NBA he belonged in the contest after he threw down a sweet between the legs dunk. He needs another shot at it.
Pat Connaughton. Why?
Connaughton is not just a 3-point shooter; he can dunk too. The Blazers have designed plays to throw alley-oops to Connaughton, and he puts them down. Connaughton is very athletic and could throw down some fun dunks in the contest. Pat would have to use some props to get the crowd into it and would need a teammate to lob the ball to him.
Next: 2017-18 Week 18 NBA Power Rankings
Don’t miss All-Star Saturday night starting at 8 pm ET on TNT. Damian Lillard will suit up for Team Curry, Sunday night at 8 p.m. ET.