Trail Blazers to shut down Damian Lillard for rest of season / News - Basketnews.com

With the Portland Trail Blazers losing seven out of the eight last games, Damian Lillard likely won't be seen on the court for the remainder of the 2022-23 season. Portland has nine games left.

Credit: AFP-Scanpix Credit AFP-Scanpix

The Portland Trail Blazers are leaning toward shutting down All-Star Damian Lillard for the season's final nine games, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Damian Lillard

MIN:36.32PTS:32.17 (60.57%)REB:4.79As:7.33ST:0.86BL:0.31TO:3.29GM:58ProfileNBA2022/2023

The franchise is seriously considering taking precautions as Lillard deals with a calf injury and the team is 3.5 games out of the Play-In Tournament race, via the report.

Lillard admitted earlier in the week that his season could end if the team didn't quickly turn things around.

"We're on a losing streak. We've pretty much fallen out of the race for the 10th spot unless we go out there and win every game," Lillard said. "I love to play, I love the competition and I haven't been ready to give that up. But there does come a point in time when do you stop putting your competitive nature out front?"

It would be the second season in a row for the Blazers when the team doesn't make the playoffs.

For his part, the 32-year-old Lillard averages 32.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 7.3 assists over 58 games this season.

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