Damian Lillard predicts “Blazers in six”
The Golden State Warriors take on the Portland Trailblazers in the opening round of the playoffs. Damian Lillard predicted “Blazers in six.”
In order to be one of the game’s elite players, you have to be confident. Basketball’s best expect every shot to go in and every game to end in a victory. Damian Lillard is no exception.
In fact, he might embrace this mentality better than most. He’s quickly climbing the point guard ladders in a league driven by that position. But his game goes beyond just the court.
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Lillard likes to talk. Whether it’s in the booth or in the media, he will air out his complaints. He also wants people to know that he fully believes in himself and his team.
“Blazers in six” said Lillard, following up the prediction with a chuckle. His Portland team managed to secure the eighth spot and will face Golden State in the first round. This is the second year in a row Lillard will face his hometown Warriors.
The Internet lost its mind once it got ahold of the Oakland-native’s comments, as it normally does when someone talks trash. Except this wasn’t really trash talking. This was far from Brandon Jennings’ “Bucks in six” comments he made a few years back when he took on LeBron James’ Miami Heat.
Lillard was simply asking a question from a local reporter. He asked the guard if the Blazers would win in six or seven. There weren’t a lot of options for him to choose from.
And even if there were, he wasn’t going to say “I think we’re actually going to lose. We’re not going to beat them this series.” That just wouldn’t make sense.
Part of the outrage came because of the way the quote was presented. Twitter is lovely, but it’s not the ideal setting for context. Several outlets, including Bleacher Report, presented the quote without any real background about why Lillard was saying that. It wasn’t an unprompted comment.
Ultimately, the context doesn’t matter. At least not to the Warriors that will be suiting up on Easter Sunday. Surely, they’ll see the comments and let it fuel them. It’s what they do.
Guys like Draymond Green and Kevin Durant thrive off of being spoken on. Stephen Curry loves being underestimated. These guys take notes and then they take it out on the court, turning hate to buckets like how the characters in Monster’s Inc. turn screams into power.
The Warriors beat the Blazers in five games last season. This year, Golden State bested Lillard’s squad all three times they faced each other in the regular season. It’s clear the Dubs have a talent advantage over Portland, but they have been known to succumb to boredom.
Make no mistake: this comment may have been innocuous, but it could very well be the Blazers’ undoing.