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Back in March, Charles Barkley and his TNT Inside the NBA co-analyst, Kenny “The Jet” Smith both agreed that the Portland Trail Blazers could make their first appearance in the NBA Finals since 1992.
“I like Portland in the Finals,” Barkley told me.
“With [Damian] Lillard and [CJ] McCollum. The addition of Rodney Hood and Enes Kanter. I like them in the West.”
“Charles, he can say someting crazy all of the time,” Kenny Smith told me.
“I don’t normally say it. I’m just saying, not every day in a seven game series. I’m talking about just three games: shoot six for ten in between to combat guys shooting four for ten from three point range. They have it, they have it! So to me, that separates them when they’ve been so close every year to get over the hump, that they can get to the Western Conference Finals and they’re a clear and present agent for the Warriors because the Warriors have had trouble with those two guards even in that set. And even, until this year, Oklahoma had trouble with those two guards; until this year.”
Lillard was all smiles when I asked him what he thought of Barkley and Smith’s remarks.
“It means a lot to me a lot of time whenever I hear the chatter either positive or negative,” Lillard tells me.
“I take it with a grain of salt. I hear it and I kind of just move on and do my own little thing. But to hear their support it’s definitely a positive thing. It’s an honor to have them speaking on my part.”
For those keeping score at home: The Portland Trail Blazers had a Cinderella season last year.
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – APRIL 21: Damian Lillard #0 talks with CJ McCollum #3 of the Portland Trail Blazers during a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder during Round One Game Three of the 2019 NBA Playoffs on April 21, 2019 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. The Trail Blazers defeated the Thunder 111-98. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
Led by point guard, Damian Lillard, the Weber State phenom from the city of Oakland, California averaged 25.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 6.9 assists in 80 games during last year’s regular season while also guiding Rip City to a 53-29,record and a third seed in the NBA Playoffs.
Together, Lillard and Blazers teammate, C.J. McCollum were unstoppable all season.
McCollum averaged 17.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists.
Lillard and McCollum combined for 46.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and 9.9 assists during the regular season while turning the ball over 4.2 total times per game.
One of the highlights of the Blazers’ season was Lillard’s cold-blooded 37-foot three-pointer buzzer-beater with no time remaining to give his team a 118-115 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
With that shot, Lillard and the Blazers advanced to the next round and defeated the Denver Nuggets.
They’d eventually lose the Golden State Warriors in the NBA’s Western Conference Finals.
The Portland Trail Blazers begin training camp this month with the NBA’s preseason and regular season beginning next month.
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