The Portland Trail Blazers are entering what could be a make-or-break stretch of their 2021-22 NBA season. Superstar Damian Lillard is going to be sidelined for at least the next 10 days as he deals with lower abdominal tendinopathy.
Lillard will be missing at least the next four games, as he already sat out from Tuesday’s win over the Detroit Pistons to try and manage the injury. The abdominal issue goes back to playing for Team USA in the Olympics for Lillard, but he has contested that it is not the reason for his struggles on the court thus far this season.
Lillard is making only 39.7 percent of his shot attempts from the field and 30.2 percent from 3-point range. He was one of the players impacted the most by the league’s rule changes, as his scoring average has dipped to 21.5 points per game.
The shooting numbers would both be career-low marks. His points per game average would be his lowest since the 2014-15 season, his third in the NBA. While his shooting has been underwhelming, he is still averaging four rebounds per game to go with 7.8 assists, which would be the second-highest mark of his career.
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Getting some rest to see if the injury heals is a good idea, but the Trail Blazers are certainly going to miss him on the court. Even with his struggles this season shooting the ball, he makes life easier for all his teammates when he is out there.
Portland has three games remaining on its homestand, which will make the loss of Damian Lillard a little easier to stomach. They will be hosting the San Antonio Spurs, Boston Celtics and LA Clippers. They travel for one game against the Golden State Warriors before hosting another four-game homestand.
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This will be a difficult stretch of games for the Portland Trail Blazers, who are also without Nassir Little for at least a week after he sprained his ankle on Monday against the Utah Jazz. Following the game against the Spurs, who are 6-13 on the season, Portland will play nine consecutive games against teams with records of .500 or better.
