Report: Damian Lillard playing through separated ribs
Damian Lillard has not looked like himself throughout the Western Conference finals, and now we may know why.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported on Saturday night that Lillard is playing through separated ribs.
Portland Trail Blazers All-NBA star Damian Lillard has separated ribs and is playing through the injury, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Lillard shot 5-of-18 in Game 3 loss to Warriors.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 19, 2019
Charania says the injury occurred in Game 2 of the series. It happened on this play with Kevon Looney landed on him:
Damian Lillard appears to be holding his left rib after Kevon Looney rolled on top of him going after a loose ball. pic.twitter.com/p32fZff7Kn
— bounce (@el_catel) May 17, 2019
Lillard shot just 5-for-18 in Portland’s 110-99 loss to the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of the series. He committed five turnovers. The Trail Blazers point guard is shooting just 32.9 percent from the field against Golden State this series and has not played well, going back to a 3-for-17 performance in Game 7 against the Denver Nuggets during the conference semis.
Lillard was dynamite in the first-round series win over the Thunder, even sending them home with a huge 3-pointer. He shot well the first six games of Portland’s win over the Nuggets but hasn’t played well since.