Portland Trail Blazers: Dame fine after surgery, questions follow

Ed Stein   |  

Jan 22, 2022

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In his first post-surgery appearance Portland Trail Blazers all-star guard Damian Lillard addressed his recovery with the media.

Saturday, Portland Trail Blazers superstar Damian Lillard met with the media. The presser was to discuss the surgery he had last week to fix an abdominal injury.

Lillard spoke about the injury, the surgery, his recovery, and when he might return. While some questions were answered, others remained unanswered.

* All quotes come from Jason Quick’s transcript in the Athletic.

Injury

It’s been somewhat of a mystery as to when the abdominal injury first occurred. Many thought it resulted from Lillard falling on the ball in Oklahoma City last season. It started way before that.

Dame said he first felt pain back in 2015 at training camp. The affected area kept tightening up. It went away the next day and then didn’t bother him for a while. As time went on, the spasms came more and more frequently.

At the Olympics, the injury reached its peak. He said there were points where he felt like he couldn’t move. Lillard knew he had to have surgery, but it wasn’t that easy.

“I wanted to do it, but I had already put the money down for my wedding and my honeymoon and stuff like that, and that’s my life. That’s something that was important to me and important to my family, so I wasn’t going to not do it. Especially when I didn’t know everything that I know now about it. So I went through with that, and I was like, “Let’s see how it goes.” And it felt better for a few weeks after I took so much time off, but it was the same.”

Recovery

The plan is for him to rest and rehab right now. It’s only been a little over a week since he had surgery, and Lillard admitted he doesn’t know how he feels because he hasn’t done any basketball-related activities.

Obviously, he’s sore from the operation. Dame can walk around fine and do yoga. More importantly, his medical team tells him that he is headed in the right direction.

Missing the team

Anyone who ever watched Damian Lillard play for the Portland Trail Blazers knows he’s a competitor. He hates sitting out, and this injury has been difficult for him. Dame played until, as he said, his body couldn’t do what his mind wanted it to do.

Dame is used to being the engine that drives the car. It’s been tough to watch the team go on without him. He did, however, take a minute to praise his teammates. Like the rest of Blazers fans, he’s enjoyed watching Anfernee Simons, and Nassir Little step up.

Return date

Now comes the biggest question: When is Damian Lillard coming back to play? Well, that’s complicated, and several factors come into play. Dame is in no hurry.

“My No. 1 goal is to win a championship, and like I said, I have to be in the best form of myself to make that happen and to be a part of that. So I’m not in a rush.”

Team doctors will check his progress sometime in the next six-to-eight weeks. So that’s somewhere from the end of February to the first week or so of March. At that point, his return to the Blazers depends on a few factors.

First, how does Dame feel? By his comments, Lillard isn’t coming unless he can compete at his best. Even if Dame thinks he’s ready, there is more to it.

Next, where are the Portland Trail Blazers in the standings? He made it clear that if the team is playing for a draft pick, he’d rather stay away.

“I mean, if we are going to play for a draft pick, it wouldn’t make sense for me … because I’m not going to play for no draft pick. I’m just not capable of that.”

So if the Blazers are out of contention, don’t expect to see Lillard until next fall.

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What do you think about Damian Lillard’s comments today? Let us know in the comments section below.