Lillard Critiques his Own Play, Explains Blazers Success Tied to his Output

Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers are enduring a forgettable month of April as the NBA’s 2020-21 regular season is winding to a close. In Sunday’s loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, Lillard went 8-of-27 from the field for 23 points. That most-recent stat line is just the latest entry in a run that features a handful of less-than-ideal performances.

After the game, NBC Sports Northwest’s Jamie Hudson highlighted Lillard’s critique of his own game.

“I’m just not playing well enough,” Lillard explained. “If we’re going to be better, I know that our team’s success is parallel to me being better and I just haven’t played good.”

In regards to the Blazers’ overall effort and mindset, Lillard returned to his warnings of complacency.

“We’ve been in the ditch, we’ve been having a hard time,” Lillard continued. “We’re trying to figure out a way to get out of it. I think if we just give in to the adversity, give in to what’s happening, then you’re going to keep going south.”

The Blazers have failed to put together consecutive victories in the month of April and have slide out of the No. 6 spot in the Western Conference as a result. Individually, Lillard is shooting 37.1 percent from the field and averaging 22.1 points per game through 10 outings this month.

You can read the full story from Hudson at NBC Sports Northwest.