Not so long ago, Damian Lillard admitted that the Portland Trail Blazers weren’t good enough to compete for an NBA championship at the moment. He knew their roster wasn’t going to be able to keep up.
There were serious doubts about Chauncey Billups’ ability to turn things around, especially with a new front office that may or may not want to build around Lillard. Then, the CJ McCollum trade made everybody think a rebuild was coming.
Fast forward to today and the Blazers have been one of the most consistent teams in the Association. Their new-look roster has meshed perfectly, and Lillard likes their championship chances now more than ever.
NBA News: Damian Lillard Says Blazers Can Win A Championship
“I think we can be a championship team,” Lillard told HoopsHype. “We’ve got a good mix of veterans with experience and young talented guys. Right now in the league, that’s who you’re seeing are the most successful teams. It’s no longer look at this super team over here. It’s who’s got the talent, who can get up and down and score, who’s fearless, who defends, who has experience and leadership? It’s all of those things that give you a shot to be one of those final teams.”
“You’re seeing it across the league, and I think we fall into that category,” Lillard added. “We’ve got to be healthy. I’ve played a lot of games, but I’ve been in and out of the lineup with little nagging things with my calf. We haven’t gotten Gary Payton II out there yet. There are other layers to this team. We’ve got guys that are still getting up to speed. Nassir (Little) was out for a long time. He’s still trying to find his footing. I think once we put all of those things together and you can really see us, that’s when you’ll see that level up.”
Of course, we’ve seen multiple teams thrive in the reuglar season and then struggle to keep that momentum going in the playoffs. So, they still need to prove that they have what it takes to go the distance.
