While it is obvious to fans of the Portland Trail Blazers and to anyone who watches Damian Lillard, confirmation that Lillard is the obvious choice to select in the All-Star draft among the reserves is always nice to hear. Kevin Pelton of ESPN outlined why Lillard is an easy decision to make.
Lillard, who has had the clock stuck on “Dame Time” the entire month of February. Since backcourt-mate CJ McCollum — who was off to an All-Star start to the season — went down with a hairline fracture of the lateral cuneiform in his left foot, all Lillard has done is average 31.9 PPG and 8.6 APG, make 4.5 3s per game at a 39% clip and make a pair of winning shots during a surprising 10-5 stretch for the Portland Trail Blazers. As a result, Lillard’s 4.9 wins produced by ESPN’s real plus-minus rank him fourth in the league behind Curry, James and Jokic.
It should take West coaches less time to write in Lillard’s name in their guard column than it took you to read this sentence.
You can read all of Pelton’s picks here (subscription required).