PORTLAND — The Portland Trail Blazers got one of their most impressive victories of the season Wednesday against the Los Angeles Clippers.
They did so by somehow surviving an atrocious, 1-for-13 shooting night for Damian Lillard.
Lillard scored just five points but he had a team-high 18 rebounds on the night, just one short of the massive and athletic DeAndre Jordan.
The numbers surprised everyone, even his coach who was watching intently the whole game.
“I didn’t even know that he had that many until after the game,” Blazers head coach Terry Stotts said. “I think the most impressive thing for me, when you’re a scorer and you’re not seeing the ball go in and you’re struggling, a lot of times that can take away your energy.”
For Stotts, the rebounding display that Lillard put on showed once again his will to win, regardless of how he is shooting.
“It can take away some of your will,” Stotts said. “For him to make up for it, because it takes will and it takes energy to go get those rebounds. I think it speaks a lot to how important winning is to him.”
The Blazers caught a couple of big breaks down the stretch, but Lillard’s hard work on the glass was key down the stretch, especially when the Blazers had Aldridge as the only big man on the floor in overtime.
Freeland healthy, waiting
Blazers big man Joel Freeland made his return from a shoulder injury on March 1 against the Kings. He had suffered the injury back on Jan. 3.
But he played only sparingly, as the Blazers also have other power forwards like Meyers Leonard and Dorell Wright.
“I think if you’re speaking health wise, there are no restrictions,” Stotts said of Freeland. “Unfortunately he hasn’t had a chance to do a lot of playing, five on five. Because of our numbers his practice time has been limited.
Leonard has performed well and Wright has been used as a power forward against smaller line-ups.
Although Freeland’s defense has been excellent this season, the Blazers depth at power forward behind LaMarcus Aldridge is making it hard for him to find playing time.
“I’m not reluctant to put him in the game,” Stotts said. “It’s just as you see, with Robin back and Chris playing and LA playing his 30-some minutes. Meyers has played well. Dorell has played well. There’s kind of a log jam coming off the bench at that position.”
