Damian Lillard Has Been Cleary Snubbed

 Damian Lillard Has Been Cleary Snubbed 

 Last night the NBA released the NBA All Stars starting lineups voted in by the fans, which for the most part in 2021 the fans did great in my opinion. Except that they made a very clear mistake. The fans voted Mavericks guard Luka Dončić in the Western Conference starting lineup over Damian Lillard. Which to me is just another day in the NBA world where Lillard is being under appreciated. The Lillard disrespect has been going on for years but at some point you’d think people who have watched so many highlights of the man saving the day for the Blazers on that handy dandy phone, at some point would realize this man is a top guard in the league. Especially in the 2021 season. Damian Lillard should be in the All Star game over Luka Dončić. 

Don’t get it wrong Luka Dončić has had a great 2021 campaign but Lillard has had the better one. To be honest it wouldn’t be clear that Lillard is having the better season. Don’t forget Dončić is a straight up baller. He is the leader of the Dallas Mavericks, he is a superstar that stayed competitive with the Clippers last season in the first round of the playoffs. He was looked at as a prime MVP candidate coming into the 2021 season. All at 21 years of age. The man can straight up hoop. So don’t take this as disrespect but to vote Dončić over Lillard is actually crazy to me. Most people saw Luka Dončić stat line which is impressive. He is averaging 25.4 PPG, 8.6. TRB, 9.4 AST, while shooting 48% from the field. You can see why he’s an All Star. Compared to Lillard’s 29.8 PPG, 4.4 TRB, 7.7 AST, 45 FG% Dončić numbers may look better to what meets the eyes on paper. Dončić averages four more rebounds, two more assists, and shoots three percent better from the field. However the numbers do not fully tell the story. Lillard leads in points by four more points and they both shoot 21 shots up a game on average. Dončić was listed as a guard but does play a lot of small forward giving him more chances to grab rebounds. Not punishing Dončić but he has to rebound for the Mavericks as they are one of the worst rebounding teams in the league ranking 29th in the category. Dončić has a better supporting cast that explains the assists. CJ McCollum can’t stay healthy for Lillard then who does he have after that? Robert Covington, old Carmelo Anthony, Jusuf Nurkić, and Gary Trent Jr. Not a lot of All Stars. Trent Jr could be a top league scorer one day if he develops properly but definitely not right now. The Trail Blazers front office never puts great players around Lillard unlike the Mavericks who are a well run franchise. People also don’t look at the fact that Lillard averages four percentiles higher than Dončić from behind the three point line, Lillard turnovers the ball less, and Lillard shoots 14% higher from the free throw line. The basic regular numbers don’t show that Lillard is having a better season when he is. There’s a reason why Lillard is considered an MVP candidate and Dončić is not. 

Without Lillard the Trail Blazers would be terrible. The Blazers need Lillard to score if he doesn't they lose. In losses Lillard averages 23 PPG. In wins he averages 33 PPG. That’s insane he has to score nearly thirty for them to win. Dončić numbers don’t change that drastically in any result of the game. He does score less but in losses he scores 27 PPG but in wins he scores 30 PPG. Dončić just has to be himself. As the other team you can just let him score apparently it doesn’t matter that much. Lillard you have to slow down because if you do you’ll probably win the game as an opposing team. Even with the lack of stars Lillard still wins games unlike Dončić. The Trail Blazers are the fourth seed in the highly competitive West at 18-10 being 8-2 in their last ten games. At this very moment Dončić Mavericks would miss the playoffs. They are 13-15 and 5-5 over the last ten games. The Mavericks don’t look good at all. The Trail Blazers look better on the court. Lillard makes his team better and should be rewarded properly for that. 

My main my point is Lillard really should be a starter over Dončić. It’s hard to see that through a basic skim of the numbers. However what Lillard provides to his team shouldn’t be bypassed like it has been for years. The fans got this one wrong. That's the problem sometimes with fan voting it becomes a popularity contest. Dončić should be an All Star, that's what the reserves are for, that's how we get the players and media involved. The starting role is a real honor that Lillard deserves. Maybe one day they will put respect on his name. 

By Matthew Doherty