PORTLAND, Ore. — Damian Lillard sent a message to Blazers fans after the Portland Trail Blazers' win against the Orlando Magic on Monday night.
Lillard posted a photo to Instagram of he and teammate CJ McCollum, who appears to be saying something to Lillard as the two walk down the court. Lillard's caption with the photo reads, "'Let’s make a run for it' (that’s what he said) … buckle up."
Lillard, who has missed six games in a row since injuring his groin during a game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Feb. 12, is planning to play against the Wizards on Wednesday, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported on Monday.
“I’m told Damian Lillard is targeting a return on Wednesday (against) the Wizards, back at home. He’s expecting to be a go on Wednesday, assuming he’s cleared to play by Portland,” Charania said.
When the injury report for Wednesday's game was released late Tuesday afternoon, Lillard was listed as probable.
The Blazers (27-35) are tied for ninth place in the Western Conference and trail the eighth-place Memphis Grizzlies (30-31) by 3.5 games with 20 games left to play. Portland is 2-4 since the All-Star break without Lillard. Overall, the Blazers are 2-6 without their All-Star point guard this season.
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Here are the playoff odds for the final playoff spot in the West as of Tuesday morning:
- Grizzlies 34.0%
- Pelicans 32.8%
- Blazers 13.7%
- Kings 9.8%
- Spurs 9.5%
- Pelicans 62%
- Blazers 14%
- Kings 11%
- Grizzlies 10%
- Spurs 3%
Here's a look at the remaining strength of schedule for each team, according to Tankathon, from easiest to hardest:
- 1. Pelicans, 22 games left, .441 opponent winning percentage
- 4. Blazers, 20 games left, .465 opponent winning percentage
- 5. Spurs, 23 games left, .470 opponent winning percentage
- 12. Kings, 22 games left, .492 opponent winning percentage
- 28. Grizzlies, 21 games left, .552 opponent winning percentage
Jared Cowley writes about the Trail Blazers and other topics for KGW.com and is the co-host of KGW's 3-on-3 Blazers podcast. Have questions or comments for the 3-on-3 Blazers team? Email them here.
