Bobby Portis is not the Milwaukee Bucks’ designated shooter in tight games. Damian Lillard is.
However, that’s not what happened in the team’s loss to the Portland Trailblazers after Dame Time decided to cower behind a pass to the big man.
Lillard received the ball from the inbound with 16 seconds to play, with the Blazers leading by one point, 103-102.
He made his move, crossed over, step-back against his defender Toumani Camara. He found his separation but decided to pass the ball at the last second to the corner to Portis who was by that time already preparing for rebound. Turnover for the Bucks.
Bucks fans and players only had one thought in mind during that possession. They knew what Lillard was capable of.
The eight-time All-Star thought he should have done differently in that play.
“When I stepped back, I probably should’ve shot it,” Lillard told Eric Nehm of The Athletic.
“He thought I was gonna shoot, so he crashed and got ready to crash and ended up being a turnover.”
Dame finished the game with 16 points on 5 out of 15 shooting.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way for the team with 31 points and 11 rebounds although he, too, lacked the aggressiveness in the last two possessions of the game.
Damian Lillard suggests he is still recovering
Lillard missed four games after their NBA Cup win due to an undisclosed illness that also gripped his teammate Antetokounmpo.
He has recovered, already played four games but those four games were a struggle for him.
In the same interview with The Athletic, the 34-year-old veteran insisted that he is not looking for an excuse for his bad games but clarified that he is not yet 100 percent and each game feels more like readjustments to the paces of the game.
“I just think it’s a different feeling going from that to getting back on the court. Sometimes, it’s just (that) I’m tired physically. Sometimes you feel weak, so each game (has) been a process of feeling better and better,” he said.
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