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NBA players ensconced in the Walt Disney World bubble may be allowed to experience the rides of the park, but only after the park is closed to the general public. If anyone had decided to go on Thursday, saying, “The Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith,” they would probably have to wait until 9 p.m. (Disney’s Hollywood Studios closes at 8 p.m., and it is assumed that it employees take at least an hour to secure and disinfect both Joe Perry’s coaster and black Les Paul.) That, however, would have been a rotten decision, as it would mean missing out on the Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard – the theme park’s most exciting attraction — scoring 42 points in a must-win game against the Brooklyn Nets.
If the Blazers lost, they would be knocked out of the playoff controversy and jettisoned from central Florida. But the team had Lillard, and he just did not want that to happen. Portland’s 134–133 win confirmed this weekend the North of the Western Conference and a place in the league’s inaugural play-in tournament this weekend. It was far more exciting than what role-playing track Steven Tyler had.
Lillard has been the standout player of the new NBA remake, an impressive distinction given the nice (and, at times, shocking) contributions from guys like Devin Booker, Luka Doncic, and TJ Warren. Lillard averaged 37.6 points and 9.6 assists during the restart and wanted Portland to a 6-2 record. In his past three games – all must-wins – Lillard put up 154 combined points. That’s a Wilt Chamberlain-like trek, and it came from a 6-foot-2-inch guard. I’m not entirely sure how copyright law works, but I believe this makes Lillard Disney the most valuable intellectual property at the moment.
Take his one-sided notable moment of fallibility in the bubble, when he missed two major free throws at the end of an August 8 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. Patrick Beverley and some of his Clipper teammates had fun at Lillard’s expense, and they happily spray-painted his “Lady Time” party from the socially distant bank.
Afterwards, Lillard gave a speech that worried me that he would lure Beverley into his wine cellar and offer him a box of vintage Amontillado.
‘I was wondering about Patrick Beverley, who – I sent him home earlier after the end of a game,’ he said. “Paul George is a man who was sent home by me in the playoffs last year, they know that.” If your goal is to stop Lillard, mocking him may not be the wise route. He hung 51 points to the Philadelphia 76ers – innocent bystanders! – in the very next game, and he followed that up with a 61-point performance against the Dallas Mavericks. (The last mark is the most points scored by a player this season by a player, except for another 61-point outing in January from … Damian Lillard.)
It would all have been for nothing, however, if the Trail Blazers had lost to the Nets on Thursday. While Brooklyn technically had nothing to play for (their playoff seeding was already secured), the Nets still managed to push the Trail Blazers to the absolute limit. Portland dragged through much of the second half and looked set for a 7-point deficit early in the fourth quarter when Lillard decided to stick to his “Logo” Lillard nickname and accidentally let one fly off the edge of the center of Jerry West’s court.
That shot was a lot of things – tired, brash, maybe not advisable – but it was not unpredictable. Lillard mentioned it in April.
If it seems like Lillard only plays in close games during the restart, it’s because he does. Referring to data from Elias Sports Bureau, Tim Bontemps of ESPN notes that he is the “first player in NBA history to score at least 40 points in three consecutive games that his team won by three or fewer points. . ” The Blazers need him to make every crazy shot he can.
Of the teams in the bubble, Portland has the highest offensive efficiency rating, but the third worst defensive rating. It’s a perfect cocktail for entertaining games and heroic Lillard performances. Against Brooklyn, we had to show him that he had both his shooting range and his defense.
Brooklyn still had a chance to send the Blazers home, but Caris LeVert’s jumper at the gate was just outside the mark. * As a result, Lillard gets to continue spewing his magic into the bubble.
Lillard and the Blazers play the No. 9-seeded Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday. Due to the somewhat confusing format of the new play-in tournament, Portland only needs to win that one game to secure a spot in the first round. If Memphis wins, however, the teams will play again on Sunday, and the winner of that game continues. In other words, the Grizzlies have the irreversible task of hitting Damian Lillard twice in a row if they want to make the playoffs. Good luck with that.
The eventual award winners will face the Los Angeles Lakers. You would expect a no. 1-seed led by LeBron James waltz in the second round, but the Lakers have struggled in the stretch and are 3-5 inside the bubble. That they might have to play against a literal basketball wizard who has been given special powers does not increase a cakewalk. It is bound to be a rollercoaster.
Correction, August 14, 2020: This piece originally misspelled Caris LeVert’s last name.
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