IMO he does not deserve those calls yet. Harden almost never gets "easily" stuffed, 80-90% of the time he easily gets the ball to the basket with a solid shot attempt and appears in good position (so he gets the calls) while Lillard very often does not get the ball anywhere near the basket "if" he gets any kind of shot off at all (hence he does not get the call). In watching last nights game this was as clear as day to me.
If you watch Lillard play, he hasn't yet figured out how to draw contact on a consistent basis so far. That says more about his "lack of respect" than his actual lack of respect
We're winning, and we're winning more when he's on the court. I'd say his sophomore year was a huge success.
Ya, the "slump" people are complaining about is only shooting. His overall game is better than last years 16.4 PER 2012-2013 19.3 PER 2013-2014
My only "complaint" about Lillard is the too many bad decisions to go inside, that's it and it's easily fixable IMO and part of his learning process. However I am trying to be objective and a non homer when many say he is not getting the calls - he does not IMO deserve them "yet". Love the team and love Lillard, doesn't meant I can't criticize something.
By the way here are some stats to show an "improved" Lillard this yr,, it's enlightening when you actually look at the numbers thanks to Wiz from another board "it might be worthwhile to compare Lillard last season to Lillard this season: points/36: last season 17.8....this season 20.7 reb/36: last season 2.9....this season 3.8 ast/36: last season 6.0....this season 5.6 turnovers/36: last season 2.8....this season 2.1 FTA/36: last season 3.9....this season 5.5 FG%: last season .429....this season .405 3ptFG%: last season .368....this season .417 2ptFG%: last season .469....this season .396 TS%: last season .546....this season .568 FTA/FGA: last season .249....this season .345 PER: last season 16.4....this season 20.0 Winshares/48: last season 0.88....this season .190 the thing is, Lillard has upped his overall game. The one flaw so far this season is his 2ptFG%. That's dragging down his efficiency big time, yet, he's actually more efficient this season then last. If he was shooting anywhere near his 2pt% from last season, he'd be putting up all-star numbers. He just need to improve decision-making and shot selection. My hunch is that he's so determined to get to the foul line the result is a lot of poor shot selection"
He is having only one problem of concern, drives close to the rim. He is trying to force shots, force contact to draw fouls, or hang in the air too long. It is obvious there are times he is looking to draw a foul instead of score the bucket. The refs aren't bailing him out of those mistakes. He needs to take less shots at the rim, he doesn't need to shoot on every drive. Its fine to keep his dribble and take the ball back outside to reset the offense. This is really hurting Lillards 2PT FG% and that is hurting the offense. He's trying to score too hard instead of taking what the defense gives him. I think he will improve on this, Lillard is a very intelligent player and works on his weaknesses. But overall he's still having a great year and we can win a playoff series with his current play. Early in the season he was shooting to many super deep threes early in the shot clock but he's doing less of that now.
I think Lillard can and will be the one Blazer who really kicks it up a notch in the playoffs. It will be awesome to watch.
100% agree. He's soooo competitive and smart. I can't imagine the damage he can do when he's playing the same team 4-7 times in a row
I think he just needs to get more respect from the refs. That will come with time I believe. His FG% is down because it counts as a shot attempt every time he drives and gets hacked.
As I was about to say before my computer decided to do it's updates. I have concerns about Damian overall (Concerns of being limited) but I'm not concerned about what we are seeing or the lack of what we are seeing from him at the moment. I'm just glad enough that he has the IQ to not force it. And he's not, he has staying within the team concept, being patient and waiting for the opportunities when they rise. When they have become available, he's delivered. In the end, he will get it figured out. He's a pro and has good coaching.
I think some of the blame has to be on Stotts. He has completely changed how he handles Lillard's minutes. Last year Dame would play 38+ minutes per game. He had no fear of coming out because our backups were beyond horrible. Right now I feel like the rotation is messing with his rhythm. At one point last night Mo Williams had played more minutes than Damian Lillard. That should NEVER happen. Stotts needs to leave him in more so he can find a rhythm and work through his problems.
To be fair, that point coincided with Mo playing much better than Lillard for the first time this season.
Lillard's PER is up almost 3 points compared to last season. Perhaps the rest is helping his overall game, and keeping him fresh late in games. What are we blaming Stotts for, again?
Because Lillard is a critical part of our success going forward, and it's obvious that his shooting is much worse this season. My theory is that he's having trouble getting into a rhythm, which is a result of how Stotts is managing his time. The answer to every problem isn't "19-4". Don't you think the team would be even better if Lillard was shooting a decent percentage?
