Damian Lillard – The Social Network

Last year we introduced you to Portland Trailblazers rookie Damian Lillard introducing himself to you. Well, it seems Damian has a tendency for making himself known to people as illustrated yesterday by this ferocious “introduction” to Washington Wizards power forward Nenê.

We’re fairly confident that after this monster dunk, Nenê knows exactly who Lillard is.

We might just start referring to Lillard as the “Social Network” from now on, as every new day seems to bring him an opportunity to get to know new people… one highlight at a time.

 

 

Wizard Jordan sweeps the Trailblazers

Okay, it’s not what you think… but it does have some fun to it.

Washington Wizards guard Jordan Crawford hit a huge game winner yesterday to beat the Portland Trailblazers and move his team to a 9-30 record on the season. The long range bomb not only secured the game but it secured a two-game season sweep of Portland as Washington also claimed victory back on November 28, their first win of the season.

While this won’t mean anything in June with regards to NBA Finals seeding, it certainly means something right now for the young Wiz and their confidence.

It also may have meant a little something to Portland’s Nicholas Batum, who practically wrote off his first career triple-double simply stating “I don’t really count it. We got swept by the Wizards this year.”

One man’s trash, another man’s treasured three-point, buzzer beating game winner.

Nice one Jordan… and Wizards.

 

 

A Final Roy-tirement pending?

Brandon Roy is once again staring retirement in the face after yet another setback with his surgically repaired knee. Roy initially retired from the NBA (Portland Trailblazers) in 2010 citing irreparable knee damage but made a comeback this season with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Having only appeared in five games so far this season and unable to take the court since the 9th of November, the Timberwolves announcement and then swiftly cancellation of a press conference featuring their former All-Star raised suspicion.

With speculation of a retirement announcement in the air, Roy made the following statement to the media.

“The past two days I have been weighing all my options as I try to continue my basketball career,” Roy said. “I have decided to explore additional treatment options and an extensive rehabilitation plan. My goal has been, and continues to be, to return to the basketball court as healthy as possible in order to help our team.”

It seems for now that Roy will continue to pursue his dream and it’s safe to say all NBA fans wish him all the very best of luck.

The curtain may close on Brandon’s NBA career sooner rather than later however, and this time it will be for good. Here’s hoping the 28 year old gets some good news and can showcase his skills again for all hoops fans.

 

 

Damian Lillard introduces himself

Drafted sixth overall in last month’s NBA Draft, Damian Lillard certainly announced himself to the league on this play during a Summer League game against the Hawks.

Lillard skies to the hoop in a very “Derrick Rose-like” way and smashes one on Atlanta’s Keith Benson.

Interestingly, the Trail Blazers acquired that number six pick from the Brooklyn Nets in the trade that sent Gerald Wallace packing from Portland earlier this year.

Lillard on Draft night 2012

That deal has worked out well for Brooklyn in the short term, securing Wallace’s services for another four years and teaming him up with Deron Williams and Joe Johnson among others. The once-upset Blazer fans will be delighted if Lillard turns into anything remotely like what Derrick Rose has become.

It may just turn out to be a nice trade after all?

This may be a taste of things to come in Portland or it may just be a flash in the pan. One can never be too sure when it comes to NBA Summer League, so a level of restraint is necessary. Either way though, it’s one sweet dunk!

 

 

Patty Dime!

Although he didn’t end up starting for the Blazers last night, Patty Mills left his mark on the win against Phoenix with this beautiful assist to Rudy Fernandez to end the first quarter. The play good enough to claim #2 “Play Of The Day” on nba.com!

Mills finished the game with 4-9 from the field, 9 points, 7 assists and 3 rebounds in 29 minutes. His only blemish was the 2 turnovers and 0-4 from downtown.

Great game Patty, all part of the process.

 

 

Patty Mills to start tonight vs Phoenix

Reports from oregonlive.com suggest Nate McMillan sees Patty Mills starting tomorrow  for Portland in place of suspended point guard Andre Miller. This is a great chance for Patty to show off his skills against one of the best point guards in the business, Steve Nash.

Keep an eye out for the young Aussie tomorrow as his home crowd hopefully fuels him to a killer performance against the Phoenix Suns.