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The Portland Trail Blazers, led by Damian Lillard, are gearing up to take on the New Orleans Pelicans tonight in a matchup between two Western Conference teams with postseason ambitions.
The Trail Blazers have had a tough start to the season under rookie coach and former NBA player Chauncey Billups. The Portland-based franchise currently find themselves 10th in the Western Conference with a 13-18 record. Portland have won their last two games and will be eager to continue their winning streak against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Damian Lillard and co. are currently just three games behind fifth seed Denver Nuggets. However, having lost seven of their last 10 games, they are in desperate need of an uptick in form.
The reason the Portland Trail Blazers have struggled this season is due to the poor form of their superstar Damian Lillard. This, coupled with the struggles of players like CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkić, has left the Trail Blazers five games under 0.500.
Damian Lillard has also missed six games this season, with Portland losing five of those, including a 31-point blowout loss against the San Antonio Spurs.
Damian Lillard is questionable for tonight's game against the New Orleans Pelicans
Portland Trail Blazers superstar Damian Lillard has been officially listed as questionable for tonight's game against the New Orleans Pelicans. As aforementioned, Lillard has already missed six games this season as injuries continue to plague the superstar.
With a promising game tonight against the struggling New Orleans Pelicans, it'll be interesting to see if Chauncey Billups does choose to play Damian Lillard tonight. The coach may be tempted to rest his main man with a tough run of fixtures coming up that feature the likes of the Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz and the Brooklyn Nets.
It is a daunting run of games for Damian Lillard and co. as they try to establish a strong foothold in the Western Conference. They will need to carry forward the momentum they gained from the last two games against the Charlotte Hornets and Memphis Grizzlies.
With CJ McCollum out indefinitely due to a collapsed right lung, there is even more onus on the shoulders of Damian Lillard to take the team forward, especially with a lot of background noise that has been brewing over the last couple of months on whether Damian Lillard wants to leave the Portland Trail Blazers.
Guess the Lakers players!
