Damian Lillard Being Back In Portland Dropping Logo 3s While The Crowd Completely Loses Their Shit Just Feels Right
Soobum Im. Getty Images.Sometimes when a player joins a new team, from the very first second, everything feels wrong. I'm not just talking about for the fans of his previous team who may be upset and hurt about the move. I'm talking about something that all basketball fans feel regardless of who your favorite team is. Some guys are just meant to be with one team.
That's exactly how I would describe Damian Lillard. The failed trade demand to the Heat only to end up as a Buck never felt right. It looked weird, it felt weird, the on court play was weird, all of it. Going back on years and years of saying he'd never leave Portland to ring chase only to try to leave Portland to ring chase was a tough look, there's no two ways about it.
As we know, Dame's tenure as a Buck was a disaster. The team stunk, he ended up popping his achilles, and for such a fun player to watch, you couldn't come up with a worse outcome following that move. Then, the Bucks stretched him (good move guys!) and instead of trying to latch on to another supposed contender, Dame made the right choice and decided to return home.
After sitting out all last year, Blazers fans finally got to watch their guy again this season and not only does Dame look great this season, he's back to giving us the very same vintage Dame performances we grew to love over the years.
And you know what? It just feels right
Listen to that crowd! What a moment. You could sense something like that was coming as Dame started to heat up towards the end of that 3rd quarter, but the buzzer beater from the logo? That's the Dame we remember. That's the Dame we love.
I get that titles are important. I get that when you're one of the greatest players of your era (which Dame is) that people will use a lack of a title to discredit who you were as a player. That's why ringless superstars ring chase in the first place.
But sometimes sports are about more than that. Especially when it comes to a franchise player and their connection to the team and city. There's a strong chance that Dame never wins a title in Portland. So what? Watch those clips again. That shit matters. You need a lot of things to go right in order to win a title, most of it being luck. Watching those moments I think it's fair to say that sometimes, a title isn't everything. A moment like that wouldn't feel the same if it happened in MIL or any other team, like it does watching Dame do it as a Blazer.
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Some players are just meant to be with one team. I'm not sure how more obvious the Basketball Gods could make it. Dame is meant to be a Blazer. Period.
The funny part is, the Blazers are sneaky pretty good. They sit at 7-3 with a +7.0 point differential. They own the 4th ranked offense and 9th best net rating in the NBA. Their defense (12th) isn't terrible. They've also had the 3rd toughest schedule to date in the NBA, with wins over the Lakers, Nuggets, and Thunder. Are they a title favorite? No, but they certainly do not stink. It's entirely possible that with normal health, this team plays its way into a top 4 seed, and when that happens, anything is possible. You could argue that this current Blazers team has a much higher chance of winning the title than the Bucks team he was on when healthy, which again, is pretty funny.
All of that just to come back to the Blazers and be on a better team? Funny how life works sometimes.
Given he will retire a Blazers legend, it's cool that this is how Dame's story gets to end. It's cool that fans didn't really hold a grudge when he left, and now that he's back it's as if none of that ever happened in the first place. Things don't always work out that way when a franchise guy leaves, and for this to all be happening post-achilles injury? That rules. All of the achilles injury guys look to be back and better than ever, which at the end of the day is a win for basketball fans everywhere.