Damian Lillard will play his first game in Portland as an opposing player when the Bucks visit the Trail Blazers on Wednesday.
In the lead up to the game, Lillard spoke about the emotion that would be tied up in the occasion.
“I think it will be emotional because I care,” Lillard told The Oregonian in an article published on Tuesday. “I loved playing in Portland. I loved living there and still live there … ”
” … I loved the organization. I loved everybody I went to work with every day. And I think what made it the hardest is it wasn’t a wasn’t a broken relationship. So coming back, being able to be here, I’m in a great situation. The reason it all came about in the first place was for a chance to win it all. We couldn’t be at that place at the same time. So I come back with love, and I’m excited to be back in the Moda Center.”
Lillard added that he could imagine eventually returning to play for the Trail Blazers.
“I see there being a time where I play for the Trail Blazers,” he told The Oregonian. “But it won’t be right now. I play for the Bucks. To accomplish what we want to accomplish, you’ve got to be all in on that. And I was traded and I’m all in to try to accomplish that here.”
Lillard averaged 32.2 points per game with the Blazers last season. This year, he has been adjusting to no longer being the sole focal point of his team.
With the Bucks, he has averaged 25.1 points and 6.8 assists per game on 42.2 percent shooting from the field.
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