Early in the season there was some criticism about Lillard taking too many threes, and not getting into the paint enough. As you can see, he is taking it to the hole a lot more now. He only took 4 three's against the Spurs going 3/4 from deep. He looks so much more confident getting to the rim, and when the refs actually start giving him some calls, this kid will be averaging 8 FTA in no time.
I don't think it's confidence in getting to the rim really. He's figured out how to finish. He got to the rim with relative ease early in the season, but he had trouble avoiding the shot blocking help defense. No one could bother his step back 3, so that became the obvious favorite shot.
I said it in another thread, but this type of improvement I've never seen happen from game 1 of a season to game 61 of a season; this sort of thing either takes years or doesn't actually happen. I'm amazed at the multi-faceted game Lillard now has, going from a really good chucker with passing skills to a slasher with an effective outside shot. But to make these effective and dramatic additions to his repertoire in 60 games? 60 games?! That's not even a whole season! I'm flabbergasted. And if this is Lillard's ceiling, if he's running up to it now instead of over 3 years, I'm totally fine with that. He's already getting to where Roy was at his peak with the numer of tools in his belt. His improvement will now be in the decision-making/experience areas, which might make him completely unstoppable.
Wade, maybe? I don't recall exactly how he progressed rookie year, but it seems like he came on pretty strong during the course of the year. He had a pretty similar college career / age / draft position trajectory, too.
Well, and his confidence too. He's gained so much confidence since the beginning of the season. I know that seems crazy because Lillard has always seemed confident, but there was a slight tentativeness about him at first, and now he looks completely comfortable out there. There's no hesitation about going to the hole. He's not just hacking threes, he's also taking little pull-ups and floaters. If you look at that shot chart, his shots are from deep, mid, and in the paint. Funny how all three of his FGs from deep are basically from the same spot. One thing that I love about Lillard is that he's a student of the game. He spends hours in the film room. So if there's a flaw in his game, he will find it, and he will try to fix it. That's why I'm not super worried about his defense. I think eventually he'll get better. Maybe he won't be the best defender in the league, but it's probably driving him crazy that he isn't doing very well on defense.
When he's interviewed, Lillard always talks about going and watching film, studying film, identifying what he needs to work on, working on getting better. He's focused and disciplined. I doubt very much he'd care much about leaving PDX for the night life in South Beach or the bright lights of LA. He's got work to do.
It's amazing what 4 years of college can do. IMO the NBA needs to both lower and raise the age requirement, listen here: Allow an allotted number of kids (only the best) to be drafted striaght outta high school (The Lebrons, KG's of the World), for the rest require AT LEAST two years of college or 20 years old. Developing kids further is better for both the NBA and College games, Lillard is a prime example.
How would you enforce that? Only the top3 picks can be "wide open" to any age, and after that, the minimum is 21 years old?
Exactly, something like that. There are some great players that came staight outta high school, but most would be so much better with a few years of growth under their belt. IMO It could be a solution to the need for contraction.
Interesting stat. We talk about how Lillard's 0 turnovers made his game last night special. http://bkref.com/tiny/MJayj Turns out, he's tied with Tony Parker for most games with at least 18 points, 4 assists, and 0 turnovers this year. If he gets 6 a year, he'll surpass his idol Gary Payton (who had 41) in 7 years. He'll own the record in 8, beating out Reggie Miller (who had 43). Terry Porter had only 18 for his career. here's the full list: http://bkref.com/tiny/lz0J3 Also, here's a list of players who did it the most times in their first 65 games: http://bkref.com/tiny/gHUlD Note another familiar name with 6. (and he only got 4 his rookie year, two more during his second year)
i am loving his new drive to the basket game, he is finishing so much better than he was earlier this season
