Portland Trail Blazers: Damian Lillard’s game knows no ceiling

Already known as one of the best in the game, the great Damian Lillard has elevated his greatness to an entirely new level for the Portland Trail Blazers.

Since entering the NBA back in 2012, Damian Lillard‘s greatness had been enough to turn the Portland Trail Blazers into perennial playoff contenders, even pushing them to the Western Conference Finals a season ago.

The same could’ve applied in 2019-20, where the now five-time All-Star is producing career-high marks across the board, averaging 29.8 points and 7.9 assists in a league-leading 37.1 minutes per game.

The added minutes are contributing to Lillard’s elite counting numbers, but he’s complemented them with an incredible touch from every spot on the court and skyrocketing efficiency.

He’s attempting 10.1 3-pointers a game — the most he ever has across six previous seasons –and is canning them at a career-best 39.7 percent clip, tops among players in the double-digit attempt range.

Lillard’s true shooting mark ranks No. 1 among players with at least 20.0 shots a game at a remarkable 62.8 percent. His effective field goal percentage (at 56.2 percent) and efficiency on 2-pointers (53 percent) are at their best ever.

This season, however, great hasn’t cut it. Not with the absence of Rodney Hood, Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins and the failed free-agent signings of Kent Bazemore and Anthony Tolliver.

The addition of Carmelo Anthony has helped more than expected, but the Portland Trail Blazers still sit below .500 at 23-27 and a game and a half outside the playoff picture. External options are extremely limited and time for Portland to begin ascending continues to tick down.

Most players would wait for a blockbuster type deal to net a sparkplug or even a savior, but Lillard has never been most players in both style and demeanor. He is always one to look internally for the solution.

That solution has been to crank up his play to historic proportions by torching whichever opponent stands before him, dragging the Blazers to wins with a level of scoring and 3-point prowess not even Stephen Curry has matched.

Over his last six games, Lillard has put together a ridiculous line of 48.8 points, 10.2 assists and 7.2 rebounds a game. He’s posting a shooting line of 50/50/90 with attempts from the field, beyond the arc, and free-throw line that read 28.0, 14.3 and 10.8 a night, respectively.

The Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz have two of the best defenses in the NBA. Lillard hung 99 points and 22 assists in a back-to-back set and came out victorious in both, two huge wins that come amid four of five to get Portland to within two and a half games of the eighth seed.

Trail Blazers: Damian Lillard is showing no signs of slowing down yet

There comes a point in every NBA player’s career where their game begins to plateau. Whether they’re a superstar or off the bench contributor, both strengths and weaknesses become the norm with no expectations of anything more.

At 29 years of age heading into this season, it wasn’t crazy to suggest Damian Lillard had reached that point, nor was it considered a negative for a player of his immense stature.

It’s simply the inevitable peak every athlete hits throughout their career, with some able to maintain it longer than others.

Lillard now owns the record for the most consecutive games with at least six 3-pointers with six. He’s also the first player to average at least 45.0 points and 10.0 assists a night over a six-game stretch. He’s 13-of-21 on shots 30-to-40 feet from the basket over that time.

The list goes on and on for the NBA’s best point guard at the moment who’s doing everything in his power to cover every excuse the Blazers have to attribute towards their underwhelming season.

Fortunately for him, the Portland Trail Blazers have the ninth-easiest remaining schedule, ahead of playoff hopefuls like the Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs, and could soon see the slightest of contributions from Jusuf Nurkic.

Perhaps those factors allow Lillard to ease up on the throttle if only for a bit to better serve what will likely be a tight race down the stretch.

Or maybe, he’ll simply reach down and find the means to continue this historic and much-needed stretch of play. It’s what the greats of previous generations have always done, the same ones who, like Damian Lillard, always seem to have another gear in their back pocket.