"I’m sure they’d tell me my fandom is not a hostage situation" - Damian Lillard confronts a Twitter user's jab about Portland Trail Blazers' fanbase
Damian Lillard is one of the best point guards and showmen in the NBA. Despite speculation about him wanting out of the Portland Trail Blazers, he has stayed with the team that drafted him out of Weber State with the No. 6 pick in 2012.
Lillard has been a fascinating person off the court through his rapping as well as his allegiance to his neighborhood in Oakland, Calif., and certainly with his interactions on social media. In that forum, he is active and will reply to people who challenge him. He recently got into a short, quick-witted spat on Twitter.
The beef started when Lillard tweeted he was going to stop watching his favorite NFL team's games after the Las Vegas Raiders (5-5) lost their third straight game, falling 32-13 to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. The Raiders, who moved from Oakland, have lost their past two games by a combined score of 73-27. A fan responded by commenting on the Trail Blazers' slow start (9-8) and tweeted,
“By this logic Trailblazers fans should be done watching y’all 😂”
Damian Lillard responded a couple hours later with wit by tweeting,
“I’m sure they’d tell me my fandom is not a hostage situation ….”
I’m sure they’d tell me my fandom is not a hostage situation … twitter.com/dustint_nba/st…
The Blazers' rough start has been compounded by drama in the front office. This is also head coach Chauncey Billups' first job as a head coach, so the team may need time to adjust. Last season was Billups' first on the sideline, working as an assistant with the LA Lakers. He was the Finals MVP in 2004, when he led the Detroit Pistons to the NBA title.
Meanwhile, Damian Lillard has not started well, averaging 7.2 points fewer per game.
How Damian Lillard’s struggles affect the Trail Blazers
An All-Star in six of his first nine seasons, Damian Lillard has been the best player on the Blazers for years and has led the Blazers to eight straight playoff runs while making one Western Conference Finals appearance. The Blazers' inability to play for a title has sparked speculation that Lillard wants out.
The importance of Lillard to the Blazers cannot be understated as he has averaged more than 25 points per game since the 2015-16 season. This season, however, he has averaged 21.6 points per game (compared to 28.8 ppg last season). Lillard has also had six seasons over 30% usage.
Damian Lillard is named Western Conference Player of the Week!
28.3 PPG
8.3 APG
2.7 RPG
1.7 BPG
48.4 FPPG https://t.co/uNZ3ytGfbz
Something that could be contributing to his scoring struggles has been the NBA officials' crackdown on offensive players earning fouls by making non-basketball moves to create contact with defenders in accordance with a rule change.
Even though Damian Lillard is not super reliant on free throws, he has averaged seven attempts from the line, making 91%, since the 2015-16 season. Lillard has attempted only 4.1 free throws, making 3.7 per game, this season.
Those extra three to four points could easily quickly raise his points per game to or above 25 points quickly. On top of that, just going to the free-throw line can help a player get in rhythm. That could explain why Lillard is shooting only 39% from the field, and 29% from 3-point range, compared to his career percentages of 43.7 from the field and 37.3 from 3-point range.
In Damian Lillard’s last game, he dropped 39 points, his first game going over 30 points this season, in a 118-111 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. Lillard also took a season-high 14 free throws, making all of them. That performance could be a turning point for Lillard, who was named the Western Conference Player of the Week on Monday.