Damian Lillard signing at Player Palooza, Feb. 2, 2015

I took these three photos of Damian Lillard not too long before I ended up riding the elevator with him. He's our point guard who earned Rookie of the Year three years ago and was an NBA All-Star last year and this year.



The chance to get up close and personal with your favorite Trail Blazer lasted 55 minutes which meant lots of folks missed out--the crowd was that huge. When I saw him across the room, I knew I'd better try to get some photos before Janessa and I would go downstairs to find the buffet.



For me, this is the best of the three photos--the lighting's great and he's sitting still. Oh, by the way, Damian's game jersey has what looks like the number zero on it; however, he's introduced as wearing the letter O which he will proudly tell you stands for where he's from, Oakland; the city where he attended college, Ogden (Weber State in Utah--he's graduating this summer); and for the state of Oregon because he plays for the Portland Trail Blazers in the state of Oregon. I like to think that every time he hears his introduction at the Moda Center, he remembers all three places and what they've meant and continue to mean in his life.

Elevator Stories, #1, seen at Player Palooza, Feb. 2, 2015

Imagine my excitement at the proximity of Trail Blazers' point guard Damian Lillard as Janessa and I waited for the elevator to the street level so that we could find the free buffet--we were hungry! We'd already been politely shooed off an earlier elevator by handlers of other players. A few minutes later, Damian's ever-present handlers turned around and led him through the black curtains. Well, we'd seen him closer than ever and were a couple of happy fans because Damian's autograph/photo line had included way too many people for us to even make an attempt at it. When the elevator door opened, we got on; I stood behind the seated elevator operator looking out the open doors when a man stepped on and looked me in the eye. I held up my right index finger and quietly said to him, "I'm not getting off this elevator." He took my measure, turned and waved someone toward the opposite corner--Damian Lillard! I didn't take a photo to prove this because I felt it would be rude to do so and knew there wouldn't be time to ask for permission before the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. However, as Janessa and I stepped off to begin our buffet search, I looked over my left shoulder at him standing in the corner, smiled and said, "Good luck, Dame." He smiled back. Sweet.

Still excited, all these hours later. Can't wait for Tuesday night. Don't know where the game will be because the opponent has not yet been revealed. Those two teams are playing later on today, San Antonio and Dallas.

As I looked through the viewfinder at Nicolas Batum out of bounds, about the throw the ball into play, I calmly said to myself, "It is our turn." As you saw on yesterday's post, Damian Lillard, wearing the letter O, caught the pass beyond the three-point line, turned and let it fly. In a moment in time that none of us who know that We Are Rip City will ever forget, the ball passed through the net, causing it to fly sideways, sort of like all of us Blazers' fans felt, flying every which way with joy. There on the court, the players' motion of joy began with Wesley Matthews, No. 2 in the white uniform. You can't tell it in this version of the photo that I took from the opposite end of the court that LaMarcus Aldridge has turned his head to the left and is looking at Damian Lillard, a great big smile already on his face. (If you click on the photo, you'll go to my Flickr account and can then click on the photo to enlarge it and maybe see that great big ol' smile!) LaMarcus knew that buzzer beater had just sent the Portland Trail Blazers into the second round of the NBA playoffs for the first time in 14 years. He's been with the team since 2006-07. The motion of dejection started with everyone in a red uniform, stuck on the court, standing at the bench, a fan in the crowd wearing a team jersey stands behind the Rockets' bench, his hands dejectedly atop his head.



The motion of joy. All over the photo from the court to the stands--look at Damian, Wesley and LaMarcus! I love that it looks like the ball has stopped right in front of James Harden, No. 13 in the red uniform. I hope that he has dreamed about this shot repeatedly since Friday night. Not a nightmare, just a continuous, looping, hyper-slow-motion dream that starts when his teammate, No. 25, arrived too late to impact that shot. No. 25 who has disappeared from the area so that he's not in the photo. Seconds earlier, yes, seconds, that same No. 25 had made a basket that put the Rockets ahead by two, a big deal, An even bigger deal, No. 25 made a gigantic mistake leaving point nine seconds on the clock. I want that dream to end with the ball going through the basket and the Rockets frozen in dejection, right before it starts again with Batum inbounding the ball. You may think I'm going overboard here, but know that I'm not. This is a great big deal. How it will go in the second round? No one knows. But, right now, I plan to enjoy this point nine seconds in time over and over and over. And I fully realize that I may have to own the dejection of a different outcome at some point in the future. I will, but right now, I don't care.



Motion of joy, speeding up.



LaMarcus runs in high gear as Wesley skirts the frozen Patrick Beverley. I'm about to miss the action because I appear to have forgotten to turn the camera to the left. My mind, blown.



I'm still concentrating on Wesley and LaMarcus, so that is wasn't until I uploaded the photos that I did noticed No. 12 Dwight Howard begin to walk towards the corner. Later that night, I heard one of the Talkin' Ball local sports guys say on their TV show that not too long before this moment when Dwight had made a basket, he yelled at the crowd as he turned to run down court, "I'm the best player on the floor!" I saw him yelling from where I sit, but of course I'm way up high above the court, so hearing that guy repeat what the now vanquished Rocket had to say thrills me! Oh, look. The ball has bounced from the floor up into the air again, and James Harden still stands, dejected. I like that word. Makes me wonder what jected might mean--happy, joyous? So that when you're dejected, you are far from happy, joyous. See, I wasn't kidding about enjoying this second over and over.



The ball's about to settle there on the floor as the two refs begin to walk to the table to review the shot, to make certain what we Blazermanics already knew, that Damian got the shot off in time, that the Blazers had won the series 4-2. Oh, and see the guy on the Rockets' bench wearing No. 30, his hands cupped around his mouth? He's their rookie who made a last second shot to defeat the Blazers in game three, right here in our building exactly one week before. We lost that game, the first home game in this round one series, in overtime after winning games one and two in Houston. No. 30 was only in the game because the Rockets' No. 25 had fouled out, the same guy who had had no impact on Damian's game-winning three. I remember thinking when the crowd roared at this development, "What if this guy who takes his place does something?" I didn't have a clue who he was, didn't know that he was coming into his sixth-ever NBA game, I just knew that we shouldn't get too excited until the time was out on the clock and that the Blazers had won. So, I owned the dejection on Friday night, a week before I owned the joy.



By the way, No. 6 in the Rockets' uniform is from Portland. Terrance Jones, a Jefferson High School graduate whose team won three straight Oregon class 5A state championships between his sophomore and senior years. He played two years at the University of Kentucky before leaving early for the NBA Draft in 2012. He's been on the Rockets two seasons now. When he was sophomore at Kentucky, the Wildcats won the NCAA Final Four. He's going to be at least a "junior" on the Rockets before that team gets another chance to win the NBA championship.



Finally I moved the camera a bit and managed to get Nicolas Batum hugging Damian around the neck, and the impending arrival of Wesley and LaMarcus.



In the middle of this exuberant group, sort of buried by his joyous teammates, stands Damian Lillard.



There he is, Nicolas still holding on. Wesley holding on. LaMarcus, who said in an after-game interview that he held onto him for at least three minutes. Other Trail Blazers holding on, Earl in the white, Joel in the black and white stripes, Dorell in the gray, and CJ on the left in the same black and white stripes.



Then I quickly moved the camera to get a shot of the confetti. I love to see that stuff come flying out of the ceiling 'cause it means one thing, victory!



An exciting time for everyone, except the Rockets.



Once the refs reviewed the shot, Mark Mason announced that it stands: Blazers win! Blazers win!

This  Merriam-Webster definition applies only to the Rockets at this time:

de·ject·ed adjective - sad because of failure, loss, etc. / cast down in spirits / depressed

I will admit it, if and when I become dejected because a game doesn't go our way. However, not even the unknowingness of the upcoming series shall weaken my joy at being a season ticket holder and a fan of the Portland Trail Blazers.

This. Last night. Shock and awe, y'all. Right here in Rip City. Trail Blazers shocked the Rockets and awed their fans.

Point nine seconds left on the game clock. The Rockets had just scored to go ahead by two. Batum inbounded to Lillard who managed the first amazing thing to happen as the point nine seconds ticked off. He got wide open, caught the pass, took the three-point shot.



After the ball left his fingertips, it continued on its trajectory to the basket. That's when the second amazing thing happened. It didn't matter that the point nine seconds had ticked off the clock because the ball had left his hands before time had run out. Score! Blazers win! Blazers win! Blazers win! Blazers win! That's four wins for us, two for them. It's a great day to be a Blazer! Round Two, the conference semi-finals, begin for the Portland Trail Blazers next week. We won't know who our opponent will be until tomorrow after Game 7 for the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks. Either way, here's how I see it, one Texas team down, one to go.

Blazer fans arrive early evening Sunday, before game four, first round NBA playoffs. The Moda Center, home of my Portland Trail Blazers!

Yes, I consider this team mine. And I'll wager each fan does much the same in whatever sport or sports that they love to watch. We went on to win game four, in overtime by three points. That was the third overtime game in the four played up until that point. It's a best of seven series--the Trail Blazers have it 3-1 right now. Game five is in Houston tonight. Go, Blazers!

Lillard, Damian Lillard that is, is our point guard. Rookie of the year last season, All Star this season. He's a treat to watch play and a treat to listen to his interviews--he's a well-spoken young man who knows that in the end, it's the entire team, not just him, that makes things. By the way, when he's introduced, Mark Mason says, ". . . wearing the letter O, Damian Lillard!" I love it!

Damian Lillard, Rookie of the Year, Portland Trail Blazers' point guard. Congratulations, Damian!

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October 21, 2012--my first chance to take photos of Portland Trail Blazer rookie point guard Damian Lillard--Wells Fargo Fan Fest. The young man impressed me with his ability at the microphone when he and Meyers Leonard and Will Barton took questions from eager season ticket holders. Afterwards, I eagerly awaited my first chance to see him on the court. Now, all these months later, he's been named the Rookie of the Year! He won Rookie of the Month for our part of the NBA, every single month of the season! I will soon go through my loads of action shots and find some of those to share with you.

April 7-8, the movement was me, out and about and/or at work, so no post. April 9, the movement is a young Trail Blazers' fan on the court to greet the players!

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I HOPE YOU ENJOY ALL 10 OF THESE PHOTOS!




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No. 9

  

No. 10

Seen at the Blazers' game, Feb. 2, 2013, No. 2

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Autograph seekers patiently wait--smiles and looks of surprise on their faces, items in hand--for the chance to get the signature of Damian Lillard, Portland's point guard. He's 22 years old and plays beautiful basketball during the minutes he's in the game, I'd say about 90-95% of the time. Sure, every once in a while he executes an errant pass or misses a shot or a free throw, plays we've already seen him make repeatedly in this, his rookie season. 

What I like about him is the fact that a missed shot or a turnover doesn't make him put his head down, doesn't make his shoulders slump, doesn't make him look sullenly at the refs. Not at all. He plays on. If you ask me, the young man's possible-rookie-of-the-year basketball sense is outshone by his drive, determination and desire. If I had given birth to any of these youngsters at the railing, I would be just fine with my child's seeking an autograph from Damian Lillard. I feel that strongly about the young man's integrity on the court which I believe is informed by his integrity in life.

About Damian's basketball playing, at home games I witness some of the quickest, smoothest shots that I've ever seen, from all around the court--shots that make me think of the quickness and surety of a hot knife in a cold-right-out-of-the-refrigerator stick of butter. I sit up high enough in the Rose Garden Arena and watch him see the court, where his teammates are headed, where the opposition is headed, what he knows to do so that he can make things happen for his teammates and himself.  I'm left dazed by his quickness and surety. 

Damian Lillard has been named Rookie of the Month for the Western Conference for October/November, December and January. In January's 16 games, he averaged 17.7 points, 6.8 assists, and 39.6 minutes. Here's a recent quote in The Oregonian, from Lillard about the January award: “I played a good month of basketball, and I’ve got to give credit to our team because if we weren’t winning games, I don’t think I would be able to be singled out as a rookie.” He will play in the NBA game between rookies and second-year players All Star weekend in Houston, Texas. The game is February 15, on TNT at 9 p.m. E.T. Way cool.

At an event for season ticket holders back in October, one of the activities was a meet-and-greet sort of thing with our three rookies--Damian, Meyers Leonard, and Will Barton. I sat listening to those three young men take questions like how did you feel when you were drafted, who do you want to play against the most, the sort of questions I figured that they had already been asked plenty of times. They answered with sincerity, like it was the first time they'd been asked that particular question. Then I raised my arm quickly enough to catch the attention of the moderator Adam Bjaranson and asked the three to tell us how they intended, as new Trail Blazers, to follow in the well-established footsteps of their teammates in their involvement in the city, outside the basketball court. While I cannot remember each individual answer, each young man conveyed the plans he had to be involved in more that basketball in Portland. What I do remember is the fact that my question caused no hemming and hawing, no uncertainty, no lost looks around the room. What I'm trying to convey is the poise of those three young men (Meyers is 20, Will is 22). After having taught high school English and having been a high school librarian for 15 years, let me tell you, I felt pretty good about these guys, their families and their teachers. At that point I had not seen them on the court, but I felt just as good about their basketball possibilities, too.