Portland Trail Blazers: 3 goals for Damian Lillard in 2018-19

Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard played like an MVP last season. What goals could he strive for to become even better in 2018-19?

Damian Lillard followed up a career-best 2016-17 season with another solid campaign as the Portland Trail Blazers‘ lead guard. He finished his sixth season in the NBA averaging 26.9 points, 6.6 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game. He also finished the year with shooting splits of 43.9 percent from field, 36.1 percent from 3-point range and a career-best 91.6 percent from the free throw line.

Lillard’s 2017-18 production earned him a third All-Star nod, his first since 2015. He also made the All-NBA First Team for the first time in his career. For years, it felt like Lillard’s high-level abilities were going unnoticed. However, in 2018, he finally got the recognition he deserved.

Unfortunately, his great regular season was derailed by a brutal playoff performance. Facing the New Orleans Pelicans in the first round, the backcourt duo of Rajon Rondo and Jrue Holiday locked him down for much of the series. Lillard — and the rest of his team — didn’t have a counterattack, and the Blazers were swept 4-0.

Lillard finished the series averaging 18.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. He shot 35.2 percent from the field, 30.0 percent from beyond the arc and 88.2 percent from the line.

However, it’s hard to keep a man like Damian Lillard down for long. He will likely go into the 2018-19 season looking to grow from his mistakes and continue being an effective leader. So what are some goals he could look to accomplish this year?