Dame just needs to improve his shot selection. He gets too focused on going 1 on 1 and forcing up shots. His 3pt% in the 4th quarter is a lousy 26%. The rest of the time it's 41%. Also his ability to finish at the rim has taken a tremendous nose dive. He only converts 50% of his layups, and doesn't get to the foul line very often.
Dumb. First they/you built him up to be greater than he is, and now that they/you are starting to realize he's NOT that player, are denigrating him. Dame has never been anything more than an average PG when it comes to running a team. But it's everything else (leadership, cool-headedness, etc) that makes him an exceptional player, and he'll always have those attributes. In a year that's all about development I have no problem with Lillard struggling IF he's trying to expand his game. Many of his turnovers are from passes he wouldn't have even attempted last season - those are great turnovers. As for his shooting? I blame Terry (duh). He hasn't done anything - and won't do anything - to improve the play of his star players. No accountability whatsoever. In this developmental season Dame should not be the leading shot-taker - we should be running plays to develop the scoring abilities of our other players. But as per usual, Terry cares more about regular season wins than development.
In a contract year, Terry will not call out Dame, nor will he coach without having wins as his #1 priority.
No dude, the two clauses in your sentence had nothing to do with each other. He was talking about Stotts not trying to work on improving Dame during a contract year. He would do that if he were worried about wins, he would not if he is afraid of upsetting his star and getting ousted because of it.
I think it takes a special kind of stupid to intentionally listen to Jason Quick's opinion on anything.
How exactly is that question fickle? I wasn't saying dame was a bad player. I wasn't saying he should be traded. I was merely curious if people thought CJ was a better player overall. Comparing players on the roster happens all the time. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
It's not like he held out for that much and is coasting. Hell, Cuban should be madder at Jordan for that amount than he should be at Wes.
If you compare Dame and CJ's shooting chart,the big difference is that 3-10ft range. That is typically one of the hardest spots to score for a guard, but CJ is very good there 48%. Dame only shoots 28% from that range. Another problem Dame is having this season, is his FG% at the rim has really fallen from last year, when he went from one of the worst finishing guards to one of the best. It's fallen from 64% to 53%.
yep, this year he's trying to force it to the rim too much and getting himself in a bad spot too often, just needs to rein that in somewhat
Dame just needs better teammates. CJ is the only other starter quality player on the team. His problem is being the focus of the opponents defense too much.
The timing of this is just ridiculous. I don't have any problem with sports commentators calling out stars to perform better, but doing it on the heels of Dame's first game back after missing 7, especially when it comes against a team that plays as stifling of a defense as the Grizzlies, is just stupid. I know that he wasn't just talking about last night's game, but jeez, pick your spots when you're going to do a critique. That said, anyone who didn't expect Lillard to be less efficient now that there's no interior offensive threat on the Blazers' roster either was deluding themselves or doesn't know much about basketball. Because so much defensive attention is focused on him, and because he's expected to provide 25 ppg or so of the team's offense, he's taking some shots that he wouldn't otherwise take. If you mention Steph Curry and want to see Lillard produce at a superstar level of efficiency in that neighborhood, then you'd better get him an interior scorer.
It probably wouldn't have happened if CJ wasn't on fire with him out. Dame comes back, both he and CJ looks like crap, and we lose. Of course they're going to blame it on Dame, but at the same time dude took 10 threes in that game and made 2 of them. That's just asking to be ridiculed by the media.
CJ was 1-7, so it's not like Dame was taking shots away from another hot player. For better or worse, the Blazers' offense is structured around making 3s. The Grizzlies were making damned sure there weren't many open ones. Rough game to make shots anytime, but especially your first game back from a foot injury.
Well clearly it was Dame's fault that CJ went 1-7. He's a bad role model. He sets a bad example. CJ was awesome until Dame came back. Dame is ruining this team.
