It must be asked... is CJ better than Dame?

It will be interesting to see who they go to for the "last shot".

You need a 3....I go with Dame. He has better range and has proven that he can deliver.

But if you are tied or down 1.........CJ has that stop on a dime mid range moneyball, where as of late in those situations, Dame has been settling for the 3 and/or attacking the basket and not getting any love from the officials. So I would go with CJ in that scenario.

Bottom line it is great we have two options so the defenses can't just focus on one of them.

 

No.

That was easy.

 

Wade might be better but I wouldn't take him over CJ. Only people better than CJ next year are Harden, Butler, and Klay. Butler is the only one you could make a case for us ever getting (and even that is a long-long-shot).

Let's just enjoy what we have ok people? At worst a top 5 SG in the NBA!

 

Wow, a guy is gone six games and see what happens. Forgotten. Thrown aside for some new squeeze. I've been on the CJ train since his rookie year, unlike most who decided to jump on this year. He's obviously the MIP and he's playing like an all-star the last two weeks. Love him. But come on. Lillard is Portland.

Lillard has had better stats over the course of an entire season, on multiple 50+ win playoff teams than McCollum currently has this season. Actually his career averages are better than CJ's this year.
Lillard is a better distributor.
Lillard is more athletic.
Lillard is a better leader.
Lillard is an all-star (2x)
Lillard is the WC player of the week (2x)
Lillard has been all NBA (3rd team)
Lillard set an NBA record for most 3-pointers in his 1st three seasons.
Lillard had a game where he had 18 rebounds, he scored 40 twice in a four day span, he's had at least seven 3-pointers in 5 games.
Lillard scored at least twenty 9 games in a row earlier this year. He's also had two separate stretched of 8 games in a row, one was his rookie year.
Lillard has scored at least 30+ points in a game 34 times (CJ has 3)
Lillard has scored at least 40+ points in a game 3 times (CJ has 0)
Lillard has had double-digit assists 28 times (CJ has 1)
Lillard has had 27 double-doubles (CJ has 2)

And people can argue about the merits of 'Lillard Time' these days but the below (and more) happened and you can't take it away from him:



*drops mic*

 

Until CJ can also be a credible threat to notch 8 assists in a game in addition to 25 points, he's not better than Dame. He is, however, a great complimentary player next to Dame in a three guard rotation, because he can run any play Dame can, and forces defenses to respect him. If we could get enough good players around them that defenses couldn't just double them off the pick, we'd be golden.

 

A Top 5 SG and a Top 5 PG. Look at that in a vacuum. Why would we want to break that up? Especially when the two have great chemistry on and off the floor.

Getting multiple players at the top of their positions is the blueprint for success in the NBA. We just need another guy who is similarly talented up front. Then fill the roster with role players, defenders, vets, a strong coaching scheme, and some luck, and you've got a contender.

Think we're closer to this than people think. A year or two away.

 

I've said many times, Dame's problem is jacking up bad shots. He has gotten better: he's now one of the best finishers in the league, one of the best guards at getting to the rim. He's a very good shooter as well, he just throws up wild shots that drive his average down.

CJ doesn't do that, and CJ is much better at the mid range game. He's not quite on Damian's level yet.

 

Also...about the Rocket's shot. Move on. Dame has been TERRIBLE in the 4th quarter this year, trying to play hero ball. He's one of the main reason's we've blown so many games. But that doesn't have to do with ability, it has to do with bad habits.

 

Good point on taking the last shot. Reading some Sixer fan comments yesterday, they counted CJ not drawing enough fouls as a negative. As long as he's scoring efficiently (pts/shot) I don't care how he gets them. More to the point, neither Dame or CJ are going to get a call going to the basket on the last play of the game. So...I'm very happy with CJ's mid-range, change of pace game, at any time but certainly at the end of games. Every team needs a player or players who can create his own shot in that situtation, or when the play breaks down. CJ is that guy. He's here to stay.

 

Dame (24.6 ppg) and CJ (20.7 ppg) are combined averaging 45.3 ppg this year.

Here's a comparison of some of the top 'dynamic duos' in Blazer history:
- 1972-73, Petrie and Wicks, 48.7 ppg.
- 1986-87, Vandeweghe and Drexler, 48.6 ppg.
- 1988-89, Drexler and Duckworth, 45.3 ppg.
- 2014-15, Aldridge and Lillard, 44.4 ppg.
- 1994-95, Drexler and Robinson, 43.3 ppg.
- 1970-71, Petrie and Barnett, 43.3 ppg.
- 1991-92, Drexler and Porter, 43.1 ppg.
- 1982-83, Paxon and Natt, 42.1 ppg.
- 1984-85, Vandeweghe and Thompson, 40.8 ppg.
- 2008-09, Roy and Aldridge, 40.7 ppg.
- 2006-07, Randolph and Roy, 40.4 ppg.
- 1976-77, Lucas and Walton, 38.8 ppg.

Dame and CJ are in pretty good company there.

 

Sure you can ask it, but its in the same vein as asking if John Wall is a top 5 PG. Youll ponder it for a split second before realizing that nope he isnt.

 

One thing is for sure, having Dame and CJ is pretty redundant and if this team is going to significantly improve, one of them may need to be traded. Dame can net us much more in return. I'd hate to see him go, but if we could get a top 2 or 3 pick, or another star (Paul George?) in return I would be ecstatic.

 

Right now not quite. But by the end of the season I think he will be.

I been saying this for awhile now but Cj is much more efficient and less of a chucker than Dame is..

 

He isn't? Which 5+ do you have ahead of him?

 

True Shooting % gauges a players shooting efficiency. Damian is .545, CJ is .541.
Damian's assist to TO ratio is 1.9, same as CJ.
Damian's Player Efficiency Rating is 21.3, CJ is 18.81.

So when you say he's "much more efficient", are you purely talking about FG%? Is FG% now the only benchmark for how good a player is?

 

It must be answered:

No.

 

It must be explain:

Why?

 

Honestly I think it's subjective because the two best are probably Curry and Westbrook. Then you've got Chris Paul, and then there's like five or six guys who could be considered in the top 5.