PORTLAND, Ore. — As Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard has continued to struggle in the Western Conference finals, Blazers fans and NBA observers have questioned if Lillard is tired or injured.
Lillard has dealt with aggressive blitzes all series from the Warriors, making it difficult for him to find many open looks. The Blazers star is averaging just 20.3 points and shooting 32.6% from the field and 38.5% from the 3-point line.
This is the furthest Lillard has advanced in the playoffs in his career. He's never played this many games (95) or minutes (3,444) in a season. He's played the most minutes (606) of any player in the playoffs this season. Reporters have repeatedly questioned Lillard about his fatigue level after games in the conference finals, and he's consistently denied that anything is out of the ordinary.
After Saturday's Game 3 loss, in which Lillard scored 19 points, but missed 13 of 18 shots and turned the ball over five times, he said, "Everybody's tired," when asked about it before saying, "I feel fine enough to go out there and play 40 minutes like I have been, but you know, it's definitely tiring."
On Saturday night, we also found out that Lillard is playing through a little more than fatigue. Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that Lillard "has separated ribs and is playing through the injury," according to league sources.
According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, the injury occurred in Game 2 when Lillard chased a loose ball and was landed on by Warriors center Kevon Looney. Amick said Lillard is wearing padding.
Tim MacMahon of ESPN reported that a source close to Lillard said the report is true but that "it's not a story, he always plays through injuries."
The Blazers did not immediately comment on the report.
Jared Cowley writes about the Trail Blazers and other topics for KGW.com. He's also the co-host of the 3-on-3 Blazers podcast (listen here). You can reach him on Twitter @jaredcowley.
