More Lillard love from Zach Lowe

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...hings-like-including-houston-rockets-math-nba

5. Damian Lillard, in control

Sometimes you know a player has made a mini-leap even if the numbers don't show it. Statistically, Lillard is the same player he was last season. But something is different. He has mastered almost every skill-within-a-skill on offense, and he knows it.

The pull-up 3 has always been there. Lillard has learned to change pace and direction, on and off the ball, testing defenders until they wobble. Patience and craft have transformed Lillard's lefty hesitation dribble into one of his deadliest weapons. He has seen every defense; he knows where bodies will be, and when. That knowledge translates to a deeper bag of passes he throws earlier, ahead of rotating defenders, across more daring diagonals.

When you can do everything -- and when you know you can do everything -- it frees you from worrying about how defenses scheme. You can start with whatever move you prefer, confident you have a counter for any response.

Lillard is playing with an icy, manipulative calm. Steph Curry has displayed a similar evolution this season. It doesn't really show up in the numbers -- beyond perhaps a jump in Curry's free throw attempts -- but from the opener, you could just tell he had the game on a string.

Lillard is there now, too. Since returning full-time on Jan. 10, he's averaging 29 points per game on 48 percent shooting -- and 40 percent from deep. He is 17-of-35 in the last three minutes when the scoring margin is within three points -- the fifth-best percentage among 40 guys who have attempted at least 20 such shots, per NBA.com. (Ahead of him: LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Eric Bledsoe and Josh Richardson.) What he did to the Lakers in the fourth quarter Monday should be illegal. Dude hit a triple from the "S" in the "Lakers" midcourt logo.

Since his Jan. 10 return, the Portland Trail Blazers have scored 1.33 points per possession anytime Lillard drives -- the second-highest such figure among 113 guys who have recorded at least 100 drives in that span, according to Second Spectrum tracking data via NBA Advanced Stats. (Kevin Durant is No. 1.)

He's not a sieve on defense anymore, either. His positioning and effort are sound. He battles in the post against mismatches. Lillard is never going to be a plus defender, but he's approaching average. Given his insane offense, average would be fine.

One happy byproduct of all this: Portland is handily winning the minutes Lillard plays without CJ McCollum -- once a shaky spot (and still a little shaky in the reverse situation).

 

Dude, I love this. Between you and BNM I'm 0-2 today on posting news.

Y'all got this. I'll take my talents to Retort Island.

 

The things that we usually talk about and excuse with the "rookie wall" (e.g."game is too fast for them", "overthinking instead of playing their game", "afraid to make mistakes/looking over their shoulder", "not picking up nuances of Team D") lasted much longer than the rookie wall. 6 years in, at the moment, is inexcusable.