AND just like that, with one near-impossible shot from 37 feet, Damian Lillard ended the 2018-2019 season of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Well, actually that might not be entirely accurate. When “Dametime” is on, no shot is near impossible.
Lillard has been known to heave shots from just in front of the logo at half court and he has been killing the Thunder in this series with these long range bombs.
In Wednesday’s game he went on an incredible 10 of 18 shooting from the 3- point range, and amassed a total of 50 points, the most by any player so far in this post-season.
His team, the Portland Trailblazers will move on to the Western Conference semifinals to face the winner of the Denver Nuggets-San Antonio Spurs series.
THUNDER. As for the Thunder, this will be their second consecutive first round exit in the playoffs--quite a disappointing finish to an otherwise promising season.
After unloading the ineffective Carmelo Anthony and Paul George embarking on an MVP-like run for the first half of the season, everything seemed fine with the Thunder.
George was finally coming into his own and sharing the limelight with resident superstar Russell Westbrook. But then George was sidelined because of an injury and struggled to regain top form for the remainder of the season.
Despite everything, the Thunder managed to squeak into the no. 6 spot earning them a match-up with the Trailblazers.
WESTBROOK. I’ve been rooting for the Thunder to be the dark horse of the Western Conference and pull off a few surprises. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be.
I think Colin Cowherd--one of my favorite sports analysts--summarized it brilliantly: Westbrook’s game is not anymore built for the playoffs.
Not being a shooter hurts his team, because he takes an awful lot of shots and his percentages have been quite low.
His athleticism is spectacular and his triple doubles are indeed special. But the way the NBA is right now--it is a game built for shooters.
In yesterday’s game, Westbrook shot 4 of 11 from the 3-pointrange and went 11 of 31 from 2-point range. That’s a total of 42 shots. The rest of the team combined for 71. That means Westbrook just has the ball too much on his hands.
LAST ROUND. It’s on my dear mother, Elena Mayol Quijano who turned 79 this week. We love you mom. Cheers!