4. Damian Lillard – Portland Trail Blazers
Man, it’s been a tough start to the season for Damian Lillard. After averaging a very impressive 28.8 PPG on a split of 45.1/39.1/92.8 last season, he is really suffering right now. His scoring is down to 21.5 PPG and only hitting 39.7% from the field and 30.2% from 3.
He’s also gone from attempting 7.2 free throws per game last season to only 4.5 this year. For a player that hits over 90% at the line, that’s a big drop.
The refs are a lot more strict this season with giving fouls, and Lillard is one of the many players afflicted by this change.
His Trail Blazers are only 11-11 and it looks like it could be another disappointing season for Portland. I have faith in Dame though, he’s too much of a warrior to let these struggles get to him. He will find a way, let’s just hope it’s soon.