Milwaukee Bucks Game Preview: March 21 at Portland Trail Blazers

4 of 5

Mar 18, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) brings the ball up the court in the fourth quarter of their game against the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena. The Trail Blazers won 113-97. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports /

Player To Watch: Damian Lillard

Jusuf Nurkic is a lot of fun, and C.J. McCollum is nearly as good as Damian Lillard is. That’s fine. I’m still riding with Dame as the player to watch in Portland though, if for no other reason than his clutch-time shots are a thing of beauty.

More from Behind the Buck Pass

Lillard is afraid of no situation. Down three with a few seconds left? He’s got it. Up three with a few seconds left and playing defense? Okay, maybe that one is a little scary to Dame, but he’s supposedly improving on that end.

This season, Lillard is averaging 26.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game on 44.6 percent field goal shooting and 36.7 percent three-point shooting. Most of those numbers are up from last year, another season in which Lillard was salty about not being picked as an All-Star.

All-Star or not, the Bucks have plenty of reason to respect Lillard on Tuesday night. He’s got the ability to torch any team from downtown, as evidenced by his four 40-point games this season. Dame might not be the best rapper in the NBA anymore, but he can still score with the best of them.

Home/Bucks News