‘What seed you all?’: Damian Lillard recounts latest Westbrook beef

Speaking to The Athletic, Portland’s Damian Lillard explained his argument with Russell Westbrook during a Jan. 15 game in Houston.

Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard hopes to inch his team closer to the Western Conference’s No. 8 seed and final playoff spot by beating the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.

Currently tied for the No. 10 record at 20-27, Portland is at risk of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2012-13, Lillard’s rookie season.

He got a reminder of that from Rockets guard and former MVP Russell Westbrook during a fourth-quarter spat between the stars on Jan. 15.

“What seed you all? What playoff seed are you all?” Westbrook asked Lillard while standing at the free-throw line, according Lillard’s recollection of the story to The Athletic‘s Jason Quick.

The two, whose rivalry reached new heights when Lillard hit a series-winning shot at the buzzer in the 2019 playoffs against Westbrook’s Oklahoma City Thunder, have continued to beef at times this year.

With 8:08 remaining in the Jan. 15 game and the Blazers up by 14 points, Lillard fouled Westbrook in the post, and Westbrook went to the line. Audio captured Westbrook saying “A foul is a bucket. You can’t guard me.”

The rest, Lillard narrated to Quick.

After Westbrook said it was an “automatic two points,” Lillard responded by noting that his free throws weren’t automatic.

Lillard: “You a 60 percent free-throw shooter … You gonna miss both of them.”

Westbrook: “Impossible! 82 [percent]!”

Quick noted that Westbrook’s estimate was much more accurate, since he entered the game shooting 79% on free throws. However, Westbrook missed the first, allowing Lillard to gain some trash-talking ground.

“50 percent now,” Lillard recalls saying.

From there, Westbrook pointed out just how different their seasons looked. (The Rockets entered at 26-13, while Portland was 17-24.)

“What seed you all? What playoff seed are you all?”

Lillard had one last barb in him, reminding him of how Westbrook’s Thunder tenure ended in 2019.

“You know I’m the last person you want to see in the playoffs.”

The two were hit with double-technicals, and Westbrook made the second free throw attempt. But Lillard and the Blazers got the last laugh, since they won the game, 117-107.

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Despite the icy on-court rivalry, the two seemingly maintain a positive off-court relationship. Lillard told Quick that Blazers director of security Rick Riley got into an argument with Westbrook after that Jan. 15 game, with Riley defending Lillard and calling him his guy.

“That’s my guy, too!” Westbrook responded.

Last summer, Lillard said there was no hate between the two — it’s simply a fun rivalry between two ultra-competitive guards. The 29-year-old Lillard grew up in Northern California in Oakland, while the 31-year-old Westbrook had a Southern California upbringing near Los Angeles.

Entering Wednesday, Lillard has averaged 28.8 points, 7.7 assists, and 4.2 rebounds per game for the Blazers, while Westbrook is averaging 26.0 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 7.4 assists for the Rockets. Both are among the NBA’s top 10 leaders in scoring and assists for the 2019-20 season.

The two will match up Wednesday for the third time this season in a nationally-televised game on ESPN. Tip-off is at 9 p.m. Central time.

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