Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers are “really confident” about facing the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals.
Lillard says the Warriors are “much better matchup for us” compared to the more physically-bruising Denver Nuggets, which Portland eliminated in seven games in the previous round.
Dame, an Oakland native, adds that facing the Dubs in their final season at Oracle Arena is “a storybook moment.”
Per NBC Sports Bay Area:
Eyebrows were raised Monday morning when a quote from Damian Lillard started circulating in which the Portland Trail Blazers star supposedly told a Denver Nuggets ball boy that the Warriors were “due” to be beaten in the playoffs.
“I didn’t say that, for one,” Lillard said. “He was ear hustling on a conversation that I was having with someone and I wasn’t even talking about the Warriors. That’s unprofessional and I was disappointed by that just because you don’t try to ear hustle and then quote me as saying something that I didn’t say, especially when you’re standing right next to me and you could have just asked me.”
Needless to say, Lillard likes the Blazers’ chances in their first conference finals since 2000.
“I’m really confident,” Lillard said. “Like Casey said, we split the season series with them. We’ve won on their floor and on our floor. So, I think that shows we know we are capable of winning. We know we are capable of beating them. We just have to go out there and do it. Put it on the floor.”
