Portland Trail Blazers: Damian Lillard is the new Kevin Garnett

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May 3, 2021
Portland Trail Blazers
Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers.

There are plenty of similarities between the start of Damian Lillard’s and Kevin Garnett’s careers. Unlike KG and Minnesota at the turn of the century, the Portland Trail Blazers can still add more support for their superstar.

Damian Lillard is the new-age Kevin Garnett. And the Portland Trail Blazers are the new-age Minnesota Timberwolves. At least the KG version that started his career in Minnesota. On the surface that might sound great since Garnett will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Upon a closer look, this is not a good thing. As a kid, it was watching KG do his thing. He played a complete game offensively AND didn’t slack on defense. It was sad that he had to go somewhere else (Boston) to get a championship ring.

There is even more similarity between KG and Dame. In both players’ second years they earned their first All-Star nomination. However, KG rattled off 14 straight All-Star appearances.  Whereas Dame’s best is his current four straight. It’s still mind-blowing that Dame’s age 25 and 26 seasons didn’t earn him All-Star appearances.

Getting back to the topic at hand. In both KG and Dame’s second season, they made their respective playoff debuts. Garnett’s Timberwolves made eight straight playoff appearances. Dame’s Blazers have made seven straight and likely eight at the end of this season.

Both players also had one coach for nine seasons. Garnet had the late Flip Saunders. For Lillard, it’s Terry Stotts. What does all this mean? It can mean several different things. For many Portland Trail Blazers fans though, it means Dame’s best years have been wasted.

Closer to the ring

One difference between Dame and KG’s first playoff appearance. The Blazers exited in the Western Conference Semifinals. The Timberwolves were one and done. As a matter of fact, those Timberwolves teams only got past the first round of the playoffs once while Garnett played there. Damian’s Blazers lost in the Semifinals and twice, and the Western Conference Finals once. After  KG’s Western Conference Finals exit he stayed with the team for three more seasons. The team never made the playoffs again during his time in the Twin Cities.

Where is the help?

A big basketball tragedy is that Garnett never made an NBA Finals appearance. The big reason was that the Timberwolves never put great talent around their prized possession. That’s something that should resonate in Rip City. To date, Damian Lillard has never played with an All-Star teammate. CJ McCollum would have been an All-Star this year had he not injured his foot. We’ll never know. Melo was an All-Star, but his glory days were long gone by the time he joined the Blazers.

What the future holds for Damian Lillard and the Portland Blazers is anyone’s guess. GM Neil Olshey has work to do. Most importantly the talent around Lillard needs to be better.

Hopefully, Lillard will suffer the same fate as KG. It would be a shame if Dame had to leave the only team he ever played for so he can hoist a championship trophy.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media

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