The Trail Blazers’ offseason started Thursday with exit interviews, but Damian Lillard sounded like someone already looking ahead.
Lillard said he has begun playing 5-on-5 pickup as he works his way back, while also offering a strong endorsement of interim coach Tiago Splitter amid ongoing uncertainty about the job.
“I thought he did well,” Lillard said, via Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report. “Being launched into that seat out of nowhere … having to be a leader of men in this league is tough. He did a great job on the fly.”
Lillard went a step further, tying Splitter directly to the team’s late-season push.
“I think a lot of our success down the stretch of the season is because of him,” he said.
That stretch included a playoff return and a 42-40 finish after a turbulent start. As reported earlier, Splitter has said he wants to remain in the role, though league expectation is that Portland could look elsewhere.
Lillard also pointed to areas for growth.
“We need to be a better shooting team,” he said. “When you’ve got a guy like Deni getting downhill, that’s going to generate good shots.”
More broadly, Lillard framed the season as progress.
“We had a great season, in my opinion,” he said. “We beat all the best teams … now it’s about how we become a high-50s or 60-win team.”
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