
Trail Blazers Damian Lillard says play-in tourney plan would be perfect
Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard believes a play-in tournament for teams on the outside of the playoff picture “would be perfect” as the NBA considers options for how it could restart its season.
The Blazers were 3½ games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference when the NBA season was suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic on March 11.
“I feel like a play-in tournament would be perfect, just because we actually were in striking distance and also had enough games to get in the playoffs,” Lillard said Wednesday on ESPN’s Jalen & Jacoby. “But to that point, if they did decide that we’re just gonna go straight to the playoffs, obviously, we would all be disappointed.
“… We haven’t performed to be in that top eight. So if that’s the case, then fine. But if we’re gonna just come back to play games, I feel like that’d be harder on everybody else.”
As ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe have outlined, one of several ideas the league has discussed revolves around a play-in tournament for teams such as the Blazers that are close to a playoff berth.
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