Camila Sosa
It’s no secret to anyone that the Portland Trail Blazers’ season has been a complete disappointment, and ever since their star Damian Lillard was absent after an abdominal surgery he needed years ago, it was very evident that without opportunities to reach the NBA postseason there was no reason for the 31-year-old point guard to return to the courts in a hurry, or even, return in the remainder of the harvest.
And finally so it was confirmed, the franchise has finally given a statement that implies that their franchise player will not be ready to return to the court in the remainder of the regular season, and it was announced that Lillard would continue with his rehabilitation in the coming weeks.
“Damian Lillard has progressed well through the refurbishment phase within his rehabilitation of the abdominal surgery he underwent in January 2022. He has managed to achieve many of the brands tied to its performance in such a process to date and will continue in the final phase of such a procedure in the coming weeks. Lillard will miss the rest of the 2021-2022 NBA season.”
Statement from the Portland Trail Blazers regarding Damian Lillard’s recovery.
In what is likely to be the worst career year in the six-time All-Star’s last five seasons, Dame averaged 24 points, 4.1 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 3.2 three-pointers on 9.8 attempts (for a career-low 32.4% ERA) over 29 games played. With the Blazers going nowhere and the surgery of their top star becoming inevitable, Portland got rid of the rest of its important pieces such as CJ McCollum, Norman Powell and others, with the intention of preparing a complete restructuring of the roster for the next harvest.
Despite many rumors circulating around Lillard’s possible departure from the Oregon-based organization, the veteran himself has denied each of the rumours, and reiterated his commitment to the Blazers franchise on multiple occasions even with mediocre seasons in recent years.
Jusuf Nurkic, the center and second-most important player on Portland’s roster, has recovered from plantar fasciitis suffered last month neither, and he is also at risk of missing out on the remainder of the NBA campaign. Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers sit at No. 12 in the Western Conference with a 26-44 record, a long way from entering the play-in tournament.
The same applies to Afernee Simons, Portland’s revelation this season, who is still affected by a quadriceps injury and has not had any kind of update on his physical condition since March 7. The Blazers are trying their best to avoid getting the worst position for the rest of the NBA season.
