This playoff experience is gonna make him so much better.... I love this part about our young leader. Listen to EVERY word in this commercial: Be a king in ya mind, but do the work of a servant With a purpose on the mission you get to what you deservin' If it’s worth it you’d be on straight and narrow instead of swervin' Ignore the dream killers and doubters cuz they ain’t perfect. Reporter: Dame, there's still a lot of doubters out there. What do you want to tell them? Dame: Thank you for the motivation. What I LOVE about Dame is, win or lose, he's not gonna forget this series. He's not gonna forget Draymond running his DONKEY ASS mouth with his guarantees and shit. He ain't gonna forget Curry screaming "I'M BACK" and tapping his wrist in the Rose Garden. He's going to remember VERY well the reporter who asked him if he was doing his "best Steph Curry impression" when he just LIT the Dubs up for 51. He's not going to forget the double edged sword of his hometown team being champs while he has to play against them, all while those MFs are talkin' shit and disrespecting him (IN OUR HOUSE). It's. Just. More. Wood. For. The. Fire... I think Dame respects Steph, but doesn't like him or any of his teammates (just my opinion). Because of this, I see a budding rivalry emerging with the Warriors. Let's not forget Vegas' Blazer Pre-season win prediction. 26.5 CJ has had an EPIC season when a lot of forum denizens gave up on him. However, Damian Lillard is hands down the reason for our successful season. Facts about Dame: He is fearless. He has an amazing work ethic. He is Jordan-like in that he constantly plays with a chip on BOTH shoulders by using slights as motivation to prove doubters wrong. He meticulously watches film. Win or lose, this is the only thing he will have in his mind the whole Summer. Flashbacks of bad plays that cost us wins we could have had will replay over and over. It's. Just. More. Wood. For. The. Fire... Dame will be a better player next season. I know I'LL never doubt him.
Oh shit!! I was wrong!! It was that MF Kerr!! He started it before the reporter asked him after the Indiana game. It was intended to be a compliment. But it was perceived as a slight. After Damian Lillard torched the Golden State Warriors for a career-high 51 points and theTrail Blazers beat the unbeatable by 32 points, Steve Kerr was asked about Lillard's remarkable individual performance. "He looked like Steph Curry out there," theWarriors' coach said, following the Blazers' 137-105 victory in the first game after the All-Star break. Nine days later, after Lillard scored 33 points in a 111-102 victory over the Indiana Pacers, an Indiana-area reporter asked the Blazers' All-Star point guard if he was trying to impersonate Curry when he punished the Pacers for 20 first-quarter points. "I don't impersonate anybody, man," Lillard replied to the question, clearly annoyed. "I was being Damian Lillard." Lillard has been one of the NBA's best players since the All-Star break, averaging 33.5 points, 5.3 assists and 3.8 rebounds over 11 games. He's scored at least 50 points twice, at least 40 points three times and at least 30 points eight times. He's shooting 48 percent from the field, including 42 percent from three-point range, and the Blazers (34-31) have amassed a 7-4 record, surprisingly remaining in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race. But along the way, instead of celebrating the individuality of Lillard, some have branded him Curry Light. They see an athletic point guard with a propensity for hitting deep three-pointers, making clutch fourth quarter shots and showcasing slick handles. They see a player with a small-school background and ties to Oakland. And they can't help but see the reigning MVP. Well, that can't help but make Lillard feel disrespected. "I respect Steph Curry," Lillard said Thursday. "Because what he's doing is amazing. But I'm my own man. So don't come to me and say I'm impersonating him. You telling me I'm impersonating somebody by doing well at my job is disrespectful." They play the same position. They face each other four times a season. They are close in age — Lillard is 25, Curry 27 — and they are two of the NBA's brightest stars. They are fierce competitors. #grayscale"); -webkit-filter: grayscale(100%); min-height: 50px; letter-spacing: 0.195px; background: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Don't say I'm impersonating somebody or trying to do what somebody else is doing. Because I'm not. I play for the Blazers. - Damian LIllard But they are not the same man. "I just think you respect the man as the man that they are," Lillard said. "You can respect what Steph Curry's doing and love what Steph Curry's doing. But that has nothing to do with me. I'm my own man." After his monster performance against the Warriors last month, Lillard caught wind of Kerr's postgame comment. Lillard said he likes and respects Kerr. He remembers the big shots he hit as a player for the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs. He even played for Kerr once, in the 2015 NBA All-Star Game, and Lillard was moved by Kerr's pregame talk to the team, impressed that he took time to research every player and learn something about them. But he was surprised by Kerr's intended compliment. "I've got a lot of respect for Steve Kerr," Lillard said. "But when he said I looked like Steph Curry, I didn't like that either. It might seem like a compliment coming from him and how he meant it. But I didn't like that either. If anybody had a good game against us, I don't think coach (Terry) Stotts would go and say, 'He looked like Damian Lillard.' So it depends on how you want to look at it." To be clear, Lillard isn't losing sleep over any of this. He's only talking about the subject because he was asked. But he is a proud man and a fierce competitor. And he hasn't overcome a lifetime of obstacles to reach the pinnacle, only to draw comparisons to a contemporary. If anything, it'll only add a twinge of extra motivation to tonight's 7:30 p.m. matchup against Curry at Oracle Arena. Lillard has never lacked for inspiration when facing the Warriors, particularly in Oakland, where he usually has a throng of friends and family watching from the stands in the building that casts a shadow on his old neighborhood. Lillard is averaging 25.0 points in 12 career games against the Warriors, his fourth-highest scoring average against any team. Who knows? Perhaps another prolific outing will end the comparisons. "People are always looking for something to compare ... that's just the way this worked out," Lillard said. "I don't get angry over something like that. But all I'm saying is, respect me for being Damian Lillard. Don't say I'm impersonating somebody or trying to do what somebody else is doing. Because I'm not. I play for the Blazers. I went to Weber State. I'm from Oakland. There is no comparison. We're different. So respect me for being what I am and respect him for being what he is." But it was perceived as a slight. After Damian Lillard torched the Golden State Warriors for a career-high 51 points and theTrail Blazers beat the unbeatable by 32 points, Steve Kerr was asked about Lillard's remarkable individual performance.
I haven't gone full-on fanboy in a long time... but Dame is easily my favorite player in over a decade. I liked Roy, but I never really connected with him. He was here for such a short period of time.
Dame is my favorite player. Even more than my first favorite player ever, Cliff Robinson. Like, I idolized Cliff, because I was 12 when he was a rookie. It was such a formative sports experience. Dame makes me feel like that now, 26 years later. As an adult, I fanboy out on him. Today, I'm wearing a Lillard Time tee shirt even though I work for Nike. It's under a normal button down shirt, but it's a big deal, because if I got caught I'd get in big trouble. He means that much though. If he can inspire that in some nerd like me, imagine what he's doing to his teammates.
I'll put it this way, if the wrong person in the right power position sees you in Adi's, you're done and black listed immediately. I talked with major sneakerheads in the company and most won't even buy a pair of Adis.
With Adi and UA taking some major chunks of Nike's endorsement business in key areas, the competition has gone from cordial to outright war.
Well that sucks. Adidas has been putting out some nice shoes last few years. I've always been a Nike guy but I've purchased 5 pairs of Adidas shoes within the last 3 months. Lillard helps in that regard as well.
Another thing I really like about Dame is He plays the position my son plays. It gives him a hardworking, positive role model. Like it or not our kids emulate professional players. Might as well use them as teaching tools.
What about.... non sneakers? Is there an approved list of apparel or do you have to wear sneakers every day?
Not really. Blazers would do the same if you showed up to work with Lakers gear on. If I'm working for ESPN, I can't rock FoxSports gear. The next 4 days I'm working for the Pac-12 Network. I'd get sent home if I wore ROOT Sports stuff.
And really, other than a fan allegiance like BC has with Dame... why would you wear competitions' gear? I think there should be "leeway" when in the city of a team that has allegiance to another company... people are human... but I doubt it.
You can't wear direct competitor gear. But if there's a market they aren't in, like dress shoes or hiking gear or something, you can wear something that doesn't have a prominent logo. Lots of dress shoes and Columbia jackets on campus.
