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The two Alphas of the Blazers — Damian Lillard and Ja Morant — essentially handed the reins of the team to Deni Avdija. “Coming in, I told him: ‘I want you to be the horse,’” Lillard said. “Ja said the same thing: ‘You be the horse.’ I think him knowing for sure that we are encouraging that … you be the horse … you be on go … you get downhill … you attack. I think that is good for our team.”
Q. Did you have much interaction with him that summer where you guys sort of overlapped? They drafted him and then like you requested a trade but you didn’t get traded until that whole and so you guys were both like in the gym that whole summer. Did you have much interaction?” Damian Lillard: “Yeah, I was still around a little bit. I would see him in the gym. I was working out early and he would come in and we had our interactions. I always liked Scoot Henderson. I always liked Scoot and even at that time I made it clear, I never had an issue with the team as far as us not being capable. I was just like, I know we are not going for it all right now, but I still thought the team was talented, I liked the team. But we had some interactions. Obviously I knew I wasn’t going to be there, so I wouldn’t say it was anything major. But even when we played the Blazers, I would get in his ear a little bit and try to share some encouragement.”
The Portland Trail Blazers relied on scoring from a number of faces in their 112-90 victory against the Utah Jazz, as five players reached double-figures and 12 of the 13 who suited up recorded a point. Portland moves to 4-1 on the season with the win. Deni Avdija led the Blazers with 24 points and five rebounds, shooting 50 percent from the field and 3-point range, nailing 10 of 13 free throws. Damian Lillard added 22 points despite a poor shooting performance, while Toumani Camara, Scoot Henderson and Jrue Holiday had 14 points apiece.
Ja Morant on playing alongside Damian Lillard in clutch moments: “It’s good because pretty much every time he shoots, I think it’s good. So I’m pretty much bracing for a celebration every time he shoot. But in the fourth quarter, I’m for sure doing it. So being on that side, we actually talked that shootaround earlier because Coach Q actually won a championship here when we was in the bubble and the guy who I lost to in the bubble was Damian Lillard. So it’s real good to be on that side now for sure.”
Damian Lillard on his leadership approach with young players: 'I think just to show my true character. I think what I've always done has been the right thing. It might sound simple, but that's just being on time, being coachable, being humble, knowing how to handle success, knowing how to handle failure, and just how you show up every day. Because of my experience and how long I've made a career off of doing those things as a foundation, any young player could take a lot away from that.'
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The highlight reels will showcase Damian Lillard and Ja Morant making clutch shots in the Portland Trail Blazers’ 136-129 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday at Crypto.com Arena. The film session will also zero in on Blazers guard Jrue Holiday filling in the gaps with timely plays and steady leadership. “Jrue is a special player,” Lillard said. “He’s a Hall-of-Fame player. He’s a Hall-of-Fame teammate. You can take him and put him on any team, and he’s going to have an impact. You can put him at any position, and he’s going to have an impact.”
“He’s a weapon for our team, especially because we have so many guards and we got so much depth,” Lillard said. “We can kind of move Jrue all over the board. Whatever it is, he accepts it and he thrives in it. He’s a special player. And he’s a special player for our team.”
What excites you most about playing with this group?” Ja Morant: “It’s just so much fun. So much guys that can do a lot. Easier looks, easier coverages for me. It’s a blessing to be able to play around one of the best shooters of all time and then the talent like Deni as well, and the rest of the guys. We just got to continue to gel together, keep the chemistry going, and keep going and doing what we’re doing.”
Damian Lillard on Ja Morant: "It's been fun for me to to get to know him, you know, being his teammate. And you see how misunderstood he is. You see how sharp he is, you know, as a basketball player. Like he understands the game. We find ourselves on the court a lot just like laughing because I'll be telling him something, but he he saw what I saw, you know. And it's like it's always things that it takes somebody that's been in these situations where like two people was guarding you. Oh, you like we just see the moments and we see the things that only those players see."
Damian Lillard on Milwaukee: "The experience for me was a solid experience. I think people look at it from the outside and they're like, man, Dame was miserable and they didn't do this, they didn't do that. But in my mind, I'm like, I met a lot of people there that I'm still good friends with today. I had a good experience with the organization. I think I was going through a lot personally that made it a little bit more of a challenge. But it was a solid experience, I would say, doing something outside of Portland, playing with a great player like Giannis. I think that was a luxury that I hadn't experienced."
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Damian Lillard: "Deni is is a funny guy to play with because like his behaviors are just like unapologetic. Like he he has no shame. Like he he gets tired and he's the kind of dude that'll be like, you know, we miss a shot and the team go to other way and he'll just be dying and he's tired and he don't make it back and they score. We call timeout and he'll walk in the huddle and be like, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry guys. Like that was that was on me. I was I was tired. Like and he'll just flat out say whatever he's feeling, whatever he's thinking."
Oh No He Didn't: Damian Lillard on his time with the Bucks: "Doing something outside of Portland, playing with a great player like Giannis, I think that was a luxury that I hadn't experienced, playing with somebody that's gonna show up, he's gonna compete. So that was like fun for me. I could just feel that it wasn't my home"
Oh No He Didn't: Damian Lillard on playing with Ja Morant: "It's been fun to get to know him. You direct traffic as a point guard. And I think the thing about him is he's seeing the game that way to where like me being off the ball more so far this year...it's like taking that responsibility of me having to always be hyper aware"
Oh No He Didn't: Damian Lillard on coming back to the Blazers: "We got talent. I could fit into what's going on with this team. And it's my team that I've played for all these years. My family. I built my house there. I can be back with my kids. And it was mutual. I didn't just have this idea in my head. They had the same idea. And once we got together it was like this is right"
