Although the Trail Blazers initially denied that they would shut down Damian Lillard for the season, eventually that is exactly what happened.
The superstar point guard says that it wasn’t his decision to not play again this season. According to Lillard, it was the team that wanted to protect him from getting injured or aggravating old injuries.
“I wouldn’t say it’s my decision at all,” the 32-year-old point guard said on The Dan Patrick Show, via Kurt Helin of NBC Sports. “I think maybe the team protecting me from myself…
“Every time that I’ve had some type injury like that kind of get irritated or aggravated or something like that, it’s come from just like a heavy load, and stress, and just, you know, going out there and trying to go above and beyond.
“So, you know, I would say just; there is something there, and also them just trying to protect me from myself as well.”
This season Lillard averaged 32.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 7.3 assists in 36.3 minutes per game.
Portland (32-45) has already been eliminated from the postseason. It is the second year in a row that the team finished near the bottom of the Western Conference.
