Im curious to get a read from the group. What do you think Lillard's best stat line will look like this year?
Against a team bad enough, with his teammates hot and playing at home with sympathetic scorekeepers, I could see him torching an opponent for 32/16/8.
Rk Player Age Pos Date Tm Opp GS MP FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS 1 Allen Iverson 31-283 G 2007-03-17 DEN PHO W 1 43 16 22 .727 2 3 .667 10 12 .833 0 5 5 15 0 1 1 2 44 2 LeBron James 25-050 F-G 2010-02-18 CLE DEN L 1 47 15 33 .455 1 9 .111 12 17 .706 1 12 13 15 2 4 3 1 43 3 Kevin Johnson 28-030 G 1994-04-03 PHO DEN W 1 45 14 25 .560 0 1 .000 14 16 .875 1 0 1 17 3 0 2 4 42 4 Tim Hardaway 26-236 G 1993-04-25 GSW SEA W 1 45 13 26 .500 5 13 .385 10 11 .909 1 6 7 18 2 1 3 3 41 5 Clyde Drexler 23-265 G-F 1986-03-14 POR DAL L 1 46 17 23 .739 1 3 .333 6 9 .667 4 4 8 15 3 1 2 2 41 6 Isiah Thomas 26-247 G 1988-01-02 DET DEN L 1 43 16 23 .696 2 4 .500 6 9 .667 1 1 2 17 2 0 3 3 40 I want to say a Rondo triple-double line, but I don't think so. He may get a triple-double. I think he has a 40-15 game in him. Which is crazy, since here are the other players since 1985 to do that.
Depends on what you define as "best". His best game to date stat-wise was clearly the Minnesota game, but a close second, IMO, was the season opener against LA (23 & 11, his only double-double so far). I'm more impressed with high assist totals (especially considering the lack of depth this year), so I'll go with a 25/12/8 line as my prediction for his best of the year.
depends. If he's give the green light because of injuries/trades/tanking, he could go for a 45+ point game. But realistically I think a 30-12-10 game (or triple double of some sort, with over 20 points) is likely.
Agreed, but the defenses will adjust as well. Lillard needs to do some things a lot different to gain some consistency back. Stop picking up his dribble, stop dribbling to the side lines, learn to create contact on drives, learn to go right, learn to split double teams on P&R
WARNING: pure Lillard excuse mode! His shot is a bit streaky and he sometimes forces it; but moreso IMHO, he gets no ref respect on his drive yet, basically removing part of looked to be his initial arsenal. Defenses are adjusting easier because he's basically playing with one hand tied behind his back. His scoring is pretty consistent, and his assists are dependent on his streaky teammates. I'd say he's doing just fine, all things considered.
I saw this mentioned somewhere but its is still pretty interesting. If you add made 3's to that he is the only one. http://bkref.com/tiny/m4jf0
Yeah, I may have spoken too soon! And I agree with Platypus about being more concerned about assists than points. I haven't fallen in love with Lillard yet, because I just haven't seen him make passes that set up high-percentage shots. I'm not wowed by scoring PGs.
41 points, 18 assists. I looked at rookies for just the last couple of years. How about Blake Griffin, in only his 13th game in the league, vs the Knicks on Nov 20, 2010, getting 44 points and 15 rebounds. In January he had a 47-14 game.
Lillard has a phobia of statues. Another reason to trade Aldridge. http://nba.si.com/2012/11/29/damian-lillard-portland-trail-blazers-statues/?sct=obinsite
