Defensive Rating for 2016-17 for guards who play > 25 min/game 103 Westbrook, Paul 105 Curry 106 Rondo, Hill, Conley 107 Wall, Wade, Holiday, James F'ing Harden .... 113 CJ . . . 115 Dame, Collison, Rose (all tied for last) Another way to look at it . . . Defensive Rating for 1976-2017 for all Portland guards playing > 25 min/game 98 Hollins 1977, Hollins 1976 99 Twardzik 1976 . . . 102 Stoudamire 1998 ... 112 Blake 2007, Jack 2006, Dame 2012 113 CJ 2016 114, Dixon 2005 115 Dame 2016, Blake 2005 (tied for last, 87-88 out of 88) Get the picture? This isn't just below average defense. For 2016 the starting back court has two of the worst defensive performances in the last forty years.
That wasn't a game winner, both teams had a possession left after that shot. Damian Lillard bricked an ISO pull up for the win in regulation, but that doesn't mean he wasn't clutch down the stretch of that game.
Dame is a bad defender and this year has been worse then normal, that doesn't' discount the fact he has been really really good offensively. Its not just Dame being bad on D either, our entire team is bad on D this year.
Yeah except Thomas is shooting 48% both from the field and from 3, while Damian is shooting 38% from the field and 23% from 3. You're just looking at total points LOL.
Sorry that the stats I provided you apparently you think is stupid. Since you didn't care to provide stats but want to talk about them, how about you actually post some next time?
While I do not believe you can completely discount Lillards defensive numbers given the poor team defense (good defenders are never rated that low on any team), it should be noted that the Blazers as a team this year rank 319/330 in defensive rating for all teams in the last 10.5 years. The good news is that this years' Nets, Nuggets and L@kers are even worse.
I have plenty of times, I even posted a thread about it not long ago: http://www.sportstwo.com/threads/ca...mian-lillard-clutch-narrative-to-rest.308630/
You're just looking at individual efficiency without factoring in who's around them. Lets compare: Crowder > Harkless -Crowder is a 42% shooter, and can put the ball on the floor. Harkless isn't a great shooter and can't create for himself Johnson > Aminu -Johnson shoots 36% from 3 and can score down low, Aminu can't hit shit. Horford > Plumlee Horford can shoot from 3pt and mid range, Plumlee can't make a shot outside of 2 feet. Therefore, Lillard is relied on to do everything, and take every shot. In clutch time, most of these players get open and pass the ball immediately back to Lillard, causing Lillard to have to get a shot off against a defense cheating off of our 3, 4, and 5 man because they can't do anything. Meanwhile, Thomas can pass the ball and his teammates will actually look to shoot and hit shots. This keeps the defense from cheating off Thomas, allowing him to get easier shots (especially because there's almost always 4 shooters around him while Lillard only has 1 or 2.) I know you love hating on Lillard, (Hi Tunchi), but be objective and look at the full picture. Remember Lillard when he had Matthews, Batum, and Aldridge around him? He hit a high percentage of shots he took in the clutch (and they weren't even as good as the shooters Thomas has around him). It's annoying when Lillard will give the ball to Plumlee 5 feet from the rim, he'll kick to an open Aminu, who passes back to Lillard because he can't shoot. What's Lillard supposed to do then? He's gotta force something himself with no spacing and teammates that can't/don't shoot.
Those teams being worse is reflective of scoring being up league-wide, which also plays a factor in Lillard's and McCollum's low DRtg compared to years past.
