Damian Lillard Has Changed the NBA Landscape!
It was Game 5 of the 1st round of the playoffs in the Western Conference. The Blazers and Damian Lillard were leading 3-1 and were poised to win in 5. But Russell Westbrook and Paul George had other things in mind. After leading for most of the 4th quarter, the Blazers had finally managed to tie the game at 115. Westbrook missed a layup and the ball went to Damian Lillard. Lillard, who was having his best series of his career, already had 47 points and 9 three pointers. As he just got past the half-court line, he was met by Paul George, the Thunder’s best defender. As the clock dwindled away, we were all thinking, he’s not driving, he shooting. With 2 seconds left he took a step-back and launched a deep 3. The ball went through as time expired. Yes, that man Damian Lillard had just ended the Thunder’s season on a 37 foot step back 3 at the buzzer.
As Stephen A. Smith would say, “He’s a bad brother.” Lillard finished with 50 points and 10 3’s. The Blazers proceeded to go to the WCF (where they were swept by the Warriors, but that’s a different story)
Now …the offseason. Free agency.. The Thunder had lots to think about. They were clearly not good enough to contend in the West with the other good teams, and people started to speculate that the Thunder were going to move some pieces. But as the days of free agency went by, the Thunder were dormant and had not made any moves. Then one night, BOOM! Kawhi Leonard was going to the Clippers, which we all expected and he got Paul George with him! The Clippers sent the Thunder Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danillo Gallinari along with 4 unprotected first round picks and 2 pick swaps to the Thunder for Paul George. WOW. But Westbrook was still in Oklahoma City, as he had been for the past 11 seasons. He had been loyal, even when those around him had left and become snakes (KD). But in an even more surprising move, Westbrook had been traded to the Rockets, for Chris Paul and 2 first picks and 2 pick swaps. Now that the Thunder had cleaned house, they have a abundance of picks in the future. With Westbrook going to the Rockets, 2 MVP’s in Harden and Westbrook will team up. Westbrook will help with the scoring and passing for Harden, but with these 2 ball dominate guards, it will be interesting how things play out.
So all in all, after Damian Lillard sent shock waves into the NBA with his 37 foot bomb to end the Thunder’s season, he single-handedly changed the Thunder’s roster and created 2 super duos in the process.
I hope you enjoyed today’s post, please leave a comment on which super duo will be better, PG-13 and the Claw or the Beard and Russell Westbrook? In my next post, I will be exploring how the NBA has moved away from Super Teams, and into Super Duos.
