Former Blazers All-Star Describes Craziest Postseason Atmosphere He Played In

The ex-Portland superstar had his share of playoff foes over the seasons.

Mar 16, 2021; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers (from left to right) Robert Covington (23), Damian Lillard (0), Gary Trent Jr. (2), CJ McCollum (3), and Carmelo Anthony (00) walk back to the court after a timeout during the second half against the New Orleans Pelicans at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports / Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Longtime former Portland Trail Blazers All-NBA point guard Damian Lillard, now contending for his first title in the Eastern Conference with the Milwaukee Bucks, has been making the interview rounds during the league's offseason dry period.

During a recent appearance on one-time Atlanta Hawks All-Star point guard Jeff Teague's podcast “Club 520 Podcast," the 6-foot-2 Oakland native shouted out his native Golden State Warriors' homecourts (at both the Chase Center and Oracle Arena) as the toughest postseason locale where he's had to suit up.

Read More: Blazers Legend Damian Lillard is Looking for More Respect

Across his 13 career playoff games facing the Warriors as a member of the Trail Blazers, the eight-time All-Star has logged averages of 27.6 points, 6.5 dimes and 4.5 boards.

“We'd be up nine and there would be five minutes left in the third quarter, we go into the fourth quarter down eight. It happens fast," Lillard said (h/t to Sports Illustrated’s Farbod Esnaashari for the transcription). "They hit one three, you hear the crowd, see everybody stand up."

“You just looking around like, "Damn, it feels like we down 20.' They come back, hit another one … That's the only crowd I've played against at Oracle, where we could be winning and it felt like the game was slipping away. That's how crazy it was in there. Steph [Curry] hit a three, Klay [Thompson] hit a three, timeout. That walk back to the bench was like, 'Damn.’”

“Golden State just tough because playing them in the playoffs,” Lillard added. “We played them my fourth year in the second round... we were up double digits in every game. We lost 4-1, but we could have beaten them 4-1.”

The 34-year-old spent 11 seasons in Portland. The furthest he got was the 2019 Western Conference Finals. Golden State swept his Blazers that season, before being waylaid by injuries in the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors.

Last year in Milwaukee, Lillard posted averages of 24.3 points on a .424/.354/.920 slash line, along with 7.0 rebounds, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.0 steals, across 73 healthy regular season contests. For his efforts, Lillard was named to his aforementioned eighth All-Star game, and finished 11th in Clutch Player of the Year voting. The Bucks went 49-33 and secured the East's No. 3 seed, though they fell in the first round to the lower-seeded Pacers after Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo each missed multiple games due to injuries.

More Trail Blazers: Portland Should Invest in Future by Making Massive Changes to Lineup Plans