6A — BAKER CITY HERALD
TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 2021
SPORTS
Lillard should be All-Star Game starter
As the midway point
of the National Bas-
ketball Association’s
season approaches, the
rumblings about the
All-Star Game starting
lineups broke through
on television and social
media.
To no surprise we see
LeBron James (17th time),
Stephen Curry (7th) and
Kevin Durant (11th) among
the starters.
And once again, Damian
Lillard was left out of the
starting lineup.
That the Portland Trail
Blazers’ star wasn’t among the
starters is disappointing, but
not surprising.
Since entering the league in
2012, Lillard has been the face
of the Trail Blazers franchise,
racking up awards and recog-
nitions, helping lead Portland
to the playoffs in all but his
fi rst year, and making fi ve
All-Star Game appearances.
Lillard’s career stats stand
at 24.5 points, 6.6 assists and
4.2 rebounds per game. He’s
on his way to a Hall of Fame
career.
So where is my argument
then?
All-Star voting is completely
backward. Fans’ votes deter-
mine the starting lineups, a
system designed to make the
event more interactive for
viewers.
And it means Lillard has
to compete with players with
huge fan bases, such as Curry
COREY
KIRK
and the Slovenian star Luka
Doncic.
Lillard missed being named
an All-Star Game starter by
roughly half a million votes.
Yet Lillard’s colleagues, and
the reporters who cover the
NBA, recognize his elite status.
According to the NBA Public
Relations, Lillard is ranked
as the second best Western
Conference guard. Though
Curry and Doncic both deserve
to be in the game, Lillard aver-
ages more points per game
(29.8) than Doncic (28.8). He
averages more assists (7.9)
than Curry (6.2). Not only that,
Doncic openly admitted to the
media that he was surprised
he was chosen to start over
Lillard.
“I was surprised to be a
starter to be honest,” Doncic
said of his selection. “I know
Lillard deserved it maybe
more than me.’’
Though Doncic’s modesty
is charming, I don’t want to
take away from those who are
selected to play. I just want Lil-
lard to get the full recognition
he has earned with his play.
The NBA should let fans
determine the All-Star players
who aren’t starters.
If that system were in place,
Lillard would likely be starting
Harry How/Getty Images-TNS
The Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard (0) scores on
a layup past the Los Angeles Lakers’ Alex Caruso (4),
Montrezl Harrell (15) and Dennis Schroder (17) at Staples
Center in Los Angeles on Friday, Feb. 26.
in the backcourt for the West
team with Steph, and Doncic
would come off the bench.
I’m impressed that Lillard,
despite being overlooked once
again, remains unaffected by
the slight.
“I’ve always been a person
that would get the shorter
end of the stick, that’s kind
of like my story,” Lillard
told KOIN-TV reporter AJ
McCord. “That’s just been
the battle for me my whole
career.”
Although it’s a great honor
to be named an NBA all-star,
whether you’re a starter or a
reserve, Lillard’s consistently
superior performance is
indisputable.
He deserves to be on the
court, not the bench, when the
All-Star Game tips off.
OREGON VS. OREGON STATE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Beavers upset 14th-ranked Ducks, 88-77
EUGENE (AP) — Aleah Goodman
scored 20 points, leading six into
double fi gures as a deep and balanced
Oregon State offense knocked off No.
14 Oregon 88-77 in the annual rivalry
game on Sunday, Feb. 28.
The game was a regular-season
fi nale for both teams, who await seed-
ing into the conference tournament
March 3-7 in Las Vegas.
Goodman scored on breakaways, on
stepbacks and added a pair of 3-pointers
for good measure. Sasha Goforth added
17 points for Oregon State (9-6, 7-6 Pa-
cifi c-12 Conference), making 9 of 9 free
throws. Ellie Mack and Taya Corosdale
each scored 14; Corosdale hitting 4 of 5
from beyond the arc. Taylor Jones scored
11 and Talia von Oelhoffen 10 for the
Beavers, who shot 50% for the game (27
of 54) with 11 3-pointers.
Sedona Prince paced the Ducks (13-7,
10-7) with 22 points on 9 of 15 shooting,
but scored only four in nine minutes
after halftime. Taylor Mikesell and Erin
Boley each added 16 points and Nyara
Sabally 13 with 10 rebounds for Oregon.
OREGON STATE MEN’S BASKETBALL
Beavers get rare
Bay Area sweep
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Jarod Lucas scored a
career-high 26 points to lead Oregon State to a 73-62
victory over Stanford on Saturday, Feb. 27.
The Beavers (13-11, 9-9 Pac-12) took the lead for
good with about 14 minutes to play and led 65-54
with 3:11 remaining when Lucas hit a deep 3-pointer
from the center of the arc.
Oregon State swept both Stanford and Califor-
nia on the road for the fi rst time since the 2008-09
season, while the Cardinal (14-11, 10-9) had not lost
to Oregon State and Oregon at home in the same
season since 1985-86.
Ethan Thompson had 13 points for the Beavers.
Warith Alatishe added 10 points and eight rebounds.
Ziaire Williams scored 14 points off the bench to
lead Stanford. Lukas Kisunas matched his career
best with 12 points and Spencer Jones had 10. The
Cardinal had a 10-point lead in the fi rst half, but the
Beavers closed on a 14-5 run to cut the defi cit to 34-33
at the break.
Oscar da Silva, the Cardinal’s leading scorer and
rebounder, missed his second straight game due to a
lower extremity injury.
OREGON MEN’S BASKETBALL
Ducks top California
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — LJ Figueroa had 20
points, a career-high 14 rebounds and fi ve steals,
Eugene Omoruyi scored 21 points and Oregon beat
California 74-63 on Saturday, Feb. 27.
Oregon scored the fi rst four points of the game
and led the rest of the way. Figueroa, Omoruyi
and Chris Duarte combined for 38 second-half
points, while Oregon held Cal to 36. Figueroa had
15 points after the break, Duarte added 13 and
Omoruyi 10 as Oregon shot 56%.
Figueroa scored the fi nal seven points of a game-
changing 11-0 run for a 63-45 lead with 7:34 left.
Omoruyi had the other four points — all from the
line.
Duarte fi nished with 17 points for Oregon (16-
5, 11-4 Pac-12 Conference), which only got four
points from its bench. Oregon turned 11 Cal turn-
overs into 27 points, including 18 in the second
half.
The Ducks have won seven of their last eight
games with a 72-58 loss to No. 19 USC.
Ryan Betley scored 13 points, and Andre Kelly
and Matt Bradley each added 12 for Cal (8-19,
3-17), which lost its fourth straight game to close
the regular season. Jarred Hyder had 10 points.
March 3 thru May 4, 2021!
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