Trail Blazers Rule Damian Lillard Out vs. Sixers on Thursday
The Portland Trail Blazers are entering a tough situation on Thursday. Although they get the Philadelphia 76ers on the second night of a back to back, their situation isn't necessarily ideal beyond that as injuries continue to pile on.
As we already knew, the Blazers would be without several key players as the starting center Jusuf Nurkic nurses a fractured wrist, and the star guard C.J. McCollum deals with a fractured foot.
Just when the Blazers thought the situation couldn't get any tougher, they were forced to add their most prominent star Damian Lillard to the injury report late on Wednesday night. The 30-year-old guard, who often puts the Blazers on his back, is currently dealing with an abdominal strain.
So far this season, Lillard has yet to miss a game for the Trail Blazers. Through Portland's first 20 games, the star guard has seen the court for an average of 36 minutes. He put up 29 points-per-game during that time while shooting 37-percent from deep and 45-percent from the field. Lillard has also been racking up 4.6 rebounds-per-game and 7.3 assists-per-game.
With Lillard on the floor, the Blazers have managed to get off to an 11-9 start, placing them seventh in the Western Conference. Their last game occurred two nights ago when they defeated the Washington Wizards 132-121.
Now, Portland is set to face a red-hot Sixers team that is coming home for the first time in three games. As Philly enters Thursday night's matchup, they are on a solid four-game win streak. Dame Lillard or not, the Sixers have to be on their toes for a potential trap game. Seeing as though they've been on a roll lately, the Sixers could be due for a letdown sometime soon.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_
