Trail Blazers News: How Damian Lillard Spent Last Playoff-Free Spring On Portland

And now we know.

Mar 22, 2023; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Then-Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0). / Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

Former longtime Portland Trail Blazers All-Star point guard Damian Lillard, now plying his trade for the Eastern Conference's third-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in a 1-1 first round playoff series against the Indiana Pacers, appears to be reveling in his return to the postseason after a two-year wilderness under head coach Chauncey Billups in Portland.

Across his first two contests with the Bucks in the series, the 6'3" Weber State product is averaging 34.5 points on .467/.500/.938 shooting splits, five rebounds, four assists and 0.5 steals a night, in 38.5 minutes per. He's also logging a -15 plus-minus through these first two bouts, but let's not hold that against him.

Lillard last suited up in the playoffs for the Trail Blazers in 2021. Portland fell in six games to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. More recently, his teams fell short while he battled injuries.

“The last two years not being in the playoffs, it (stunk),” Lillard reflected, per Jamal Collier of ESPN. “Early vacations. Last year, I went to Coachella. I ain’t never been able to go to Coachella. Just having that long summer, I was over that. Being able to be in a playoff series on a championship team, championship organization, knowing that we got an opportunity for it, that was the thing I was looking forward to most.”

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