Damian Lillard’s first game against his former team is here.
I never thought I would come here.

But change is necessary every season, and on a crisp Wisconsin afternoon when the Portland Trail Blazers take on the Milwaukee Bucks, Damian Lillard will be wearing a jersey with no red or black at all.
It will be.
Regardless of what everyone thinks about it, the 4-11 Blazers still have room to play basketball, as they’ve won six of their last seven games and are gradually gaining consistency with the team.
They will be facing an 11-5 Bucks team that is finding its way.
New star guard.
Khris Middleton (due to Achilles tendonitis) and likely Giannis Antetokounmpo (listed as having a possible illness other than COVID-19) will be off the field in Milwaukee, but Port Land recently returned both Scoot Henderson and Malcolm Brogdon to the roster.
Dame chimed in after the Bucks expressed their lack of expectations for the first game against Portland following their 131-128 win over the weak Washington Wizards.
Uh.
.
.Okay, girl.
Damian Lillard has never been one to shy away from emotions, but it’s hard to imagine him feeling anything at all.
In his first game against the draft pick team where he spent his first 11 seasons, he became a top 75 player of all time and single-handedly returned the Blazers to NBA status.
Checkers aside, this is a matchup between two of his teams in completely different locations.
The Bucks are trying to come together in time for a late-season onslaught, while the Blazers are trying desperately to make their point guard of the future look like a good player.
Not an All-Star, but an effective rotation player.
Perhaps the Blazers can find enough reserves to make this game competitive, but the talent mismatch, home-field advantage, and the palate cleanser of a blowout win over the Wizards Considering the Bucks’ intentions, it might not be anything special.

Every season has to change.
.
.and this season is about “other things” more than winning, so what could be “different” than the Blazers’ first matchup with Damian Lillard at this point?
there is no.
time.
Milwaukee Bucks (11-5) vs.
Portland Trail Blazers (4-11) – Sunday, November 13th 26 – 12: 30:30 Pacific How to watch on TV: Root Sports, NBA League Pass Trail Blazers Injured: Anfernee Simons, Robert Williams III, Ish Wainwright (out).
Deandre Ayton (estimated) Bucks injuries: Khris Middleton, Jae Crowder (out).
Giannis Antetokounmpo (probably) SBN Affiliates: Brew Hoops Blazer’s Edge Reader Questions As has been a tradition at Blazer’s Edge for literally weeks now, I’m here for you guys for a game preview.
We’re asking you to ask us a few questions.
Look for posts like this the night before a game.
I will choose one or two (or more!
) for each game and answer as best I can.
So, I would like to introduce some questions with confidence.
From BladesQuestXX55: “How are they going to stop Giannis.
.
.and stop Dame.
.
.and stop Brooke.
.
.
” Anyone.
.
.anyone.
.
.
‘ Simple: They don’t.
The Blazers will be facing a Bucks offense that ranks 19th in defensive rating and scores the third-most points in the league.
.
.and part of that Portland defense is Robert, who won’t be returning this year.
・Enhanced by Williams III.
Get up.
While Middleton’s absence obviously hurts for Milwaukee, it also makes the offense a little cleaner for a Bucks team that wants to use Giannis and Dame a little more in the pick-and-roll.
I don’t see a single matchup being favorable for the Blazers given the available talent.
If the Blazers actually want to win this game, they could try to outrun a Bucks team that has an equal number of players over 30 and under 30 in the rotation.
.
.but the Blazers are in transition.
They are second from the bottom in points per possession.
All of this means that Portland can nicely ask Milwaukee to stop scoring, but the Bucks are under no obligation to listen.
From Ralphzillo: “With a long NBA season and many Bucks suffering for a long time, will they still have enough strength to make it through the even tougher Eastern Conference in this year’s playoffs?
” Yes, I will allow it if you are healthy.
There are a few things working in their favor.
First, they’re starting to find success, even though Khris Middleton has a much smaller role than expected.
He ranks eighth in minutes played per game in Milwaukee, but has finished first, third and sixth in the past three seasons, respectively.

If Middleton can get healthy, he’ll be the latest addition to a team that’s already starting to look scary.
Second, Giannis and Dame are far from completely in sync, and Bucks coach Adrian Griffin doesn’t seem to understand how to get the most out of their strengths when playing together.
Assuming he can do it, there won’t be a more lethal one-two punch in the NBA, and as playoff rotations get tighter, the saying “talent wins” becomes more and more true.
Is the team somehow getting older?
Safe.
But that’s less a question of this year (especially while Brook Lopez continues to play) and more of a question of their future.
Posted by: trueerlizer: Of course, Milwaukee has a stronger starting lineup for tomorrow’s game, but does Portland have any advantage with players coming off the bench?
Or?

Milwaukee’s bench has scored almost 100 more points than Portland’s bench this season, and when you look at each matchup in detail, there’s not much reason to get excited.

Pat Connaughton, Cam Payne, and Bobby Portis are all NBA veterans, and while they’re not perfect by any means, they’re useful players for good reason on a team with title aspirations.
You could convince me that it would help if Scoot Henderson finally had a breakout game (make it happen today!
), but unfortunately it feels like the Bucks are favored overall.
You can Regarding the opponent, he says BrewHoop’s Riley Feldman says the Bucks should take footage of the game against the Wizards, pour kerosene on it, set it on fire, suck the ashes into a shop bag, and empty the container.
The Milwaukee River claimed.
Oh, and he had some insight into the rotation without Middleton: Khris Middleton will likely miss significant time after his Achilles tightness checks out.
If you previously thought the team was slow to make progress toward a return, take me when I say you almost certainly haven’t seen anything yet.
The long timeline between his departure and Jae Crowder’s return gives Andre Jackson Jr.
and Marjon Beachum an even greater chance of legitimately claiming a spot in the rotation.
It still seems to me that AJJ is the much more dynamic player of the two, but Marjon’s relative control allows him to stay in games longer while avoiding foul trouble.
right.
Jackson Jr.
has already started two games this year, so I wouldn’t be surprised if this trend continues.
Jack Maloney of CBS Sports also had some thoughts on Middleton’s absence, including a quote from Dame: The veteran forward is currently on the move as he recovers from offseason knee surgery.
The season is slow.
He has yet to be cleared to play in back-to-back games and has only played more than 25 minutes once.
It’s unclear how long he will be sidelined with this new illness, but the good thing about his return plan is that the Bucks know how to play without him.
“Anytime you lose a big part of your team, it’s an adjustment,” Damian Lillard said.
“He missed a couple of games because of the limitations of how the season went early, but I think we’re used to it.
We’re just starting to realize that that hole is there and we have to deal with situations like that.
Eric Name of The Athletic (subscription required) provided a detailed breakdown of Brook Lopez’s great play in Milwaukee’s last win, a big win in which Mann scored 39 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks: With Middleton out, Lopez took on more scoring duties, scoring 15 points in the third quarter.
When crisis came for the Bucks, they had already fully integrated Lopez into nearly every offensive operation.
Even if the first few moves failed, Lopez continued to play.
.
.
Ending his career with a goal in his 16th season may have been a feat in itself, but Lopez has so far played with a variety of options.
, making the night even more memorable.
Having demonstrated the movement he developed as a big man later in his career, he can still do the same things he did with his blocks when he was an all-around player.
He was the Nets’ star center 10 years ago.