“Dame gets hurt last year & they hit a rut” – JJ Redick asserts Trail Blazers signing Jerami Grant makes them a conference finals contender
The Portland Trail Blazers are off to a great start and have a 9-4 record so far this season. After the team decided to trade CJ McCollum a season ago, many believed that we might see the last of Damian Lillard in Portland.
That simply wasn't the case as the Trail Blazers committed to Lillard and decided to bring in pieces around him. The player they decided to add was Jerami Grant. Grant previously played for the Detroit Pistons. During his time with Detroit, Grant was typically a 20-plus point scorer on a nightly basis.
Former NBA sharpshooter JJ Redick spoke about why he believes the Trail Blazers can compete for an NBA title, saying Grant will be a big reason why. He explained that the Trail Blazers struggled when Lillard was injured during previous seasons.
What Redick says is all accurate information and interesting to hear.
Damian Lillard would love to hear this. Considering he's said that he wants to win in Portland and in Portland only, the chances are looking better than ever.
"I'm coming out here to win," Lillard said. "And everybody gotta be on that. We coming out here to win. Now, are we gonna lose some games? Everybody's gonna lose some games. As we gonna go 70-12? No, we're not going 70-12. But, we represent winning."
He added,
“I want to win as a Trail Blazer,” Lillard said. “I want to win a championship where I am. I don’t think I would feel the same joy and happiness if I did it elsewhere. I would be happy, no doubt. Like winning a chip, you get that experience. But I know how I want it.”
Can the Trail Blazers win a championship?
Although what JJ Redick said is accurate, it's tough to say the Blazers can win the title. The reason for saying that is that it's difficult to say that any team in the NBA can win one.
Teams like the Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, Golden State Warriors, LA Clippers, and a few others are the title favorites. Portland might not be in that same tier, but that doesn't mean they can't win with a Lillard and Grant combo.
Throughout his career, Lillard has preached about family, which makes winning with the Blazers even more enjoyable to watch.
“The way I look at it is I grew up in that type of environment: You got to be for your family, you got to be for your people,” Lillard said.
The season has just started, but Portland is 9-4 on the year and in third place in the Western Conference. If they can continue playing the way they have, they could possibly be a sleeper team in the Conference this season.