That shot came with 36 seconds left and we were up 9. Stupid shot yes, but the game was hardly on the line at that point. What was more important was when Damian set up Crabbe with the three-pointer to give them a 7 point lead with just over 2 min, and when he hit the jump-shot to go up 9 with a minute left, essentially sealing the game.
When Portland starts winning most of their close games I will agree with you on what is "on the line". Too many self destructed losses this year to have Dame jacking up those shots. I'm not saying I don't want Dame shooting, I just want him taking good shots and having others take good shots as well. In 100% of crunch time shots I would like to see Dame take 30%, CJ take 30%, and Nurk passing to a cutter or spotter for 40%--or something like that. Sometimes Dame seems to be living back in the era where he was the only option. Stats would say that he is the least efficient of the three I just pointed out.
He didn't make them in the finals, in fact one could say in a few of those games.. Those early in the clock 30 footers he missed cost them a second ring. Lillard didn't shoot those until Aldridge, Batum, Wesley, Rolo left and were replaced with Harkless, Aminu, Plumlee, CJ. Only one of which can be relied on to be a consistent 15+ppg player.(CJ is higher than 15ppg but the rest aren't even close) Not saying he shouldn't take better shots at times, but so should all NBA players.
I think you hit on the key here, at least half of it. It wasn't just LA that left. It was also Batum, Rolo and Wes. Back then, we had the best starting 5 in the NBA (and the worst bench). The offense flowed well and you never knew who was going to take the shot with the game on the line. Back then, Stotts drew up plays for all of Nic, Dame, Wes and Aldridge with the game on the line. I seem to remember one time where all four of them hit game winning buzzer beaters within the same month. That kind of variety and diversity keeps defenses honest. They can't just focus on shutting down one or two guys. After those four left, our starting 5 became much less balanced. We had two primary scorer and the other guys. Now, our late game play calling consists of almost 100% isolation plays for Dame and C.J. Way too much hero ball and way to McMillan-like for me. I hope adding Nurk is a step in the right direction and gets us back to more team ball and less hero ball. It won't happen over night, but I'm hoping next season, we will see a much more diverse offense, similar to what we used to run when we had five quality starters. BNM
Beat me to it. Losing four quality starters has led to our current unbalanced offense. Adding Nurk starts to move us back in the right direction. We now have three quality starters. Turner, may, or may not, be the 4th, but we're headed in the right direction. BNM
And I think aprt of the problem is that Dame thinks that he needs to shoulder the load. He's the kind of guy that steps up when he thinks the team needs him, but sometimes he tries to do too much. It's really up to the coach to reign him in and let him know what is, and what is not, going to help the team. Stotts seems like a bit of a pushover. Dame could really use a little more structure.
Dame is a smart guy, and I think if he sees how much easier Nurk, and hopefully one or two other quality starters, can make his life, we will start to see less hero ball out of him. And, that's the key. Nurk is one piece, but I think we still need to upgrade both forward positions, at the very least one of the, this summer. I like Turner, but I think his best role is coming off the bench like he did in BOS. I feel the same way about Harkless, Aminu and Crabbe. They could all start in this league, on lottery bound teams. If you're starting more than one of those guys, you're going to struggle to be a playoff team. They are all good role players, but not quality starters than can average 15 ppg and play better than average defense on the other end. I know some here consider Harkless as part of our core. I do not. He may be reasonably young, but he's in his 5th NBA season and is a below average starting SF. There may be something left for a little incremental improvement, but I don't see the untapped potential there that could lead to being an above average starting SF. I know Paul Millsap is old and Serge Ibaka is oldish, but I'd love to have either of those guys as our starting PF. They are the type of 2-way players this team needs to get better. Both will also be unrestricted free agents this summer. It will be interesting to see how much they command, but in my dream world, I'd gladly jettison any/all of Crabbe, Leonard,Davis, Harkless, Aminu, and/or Turner to get either of those guys. I know Millsap is old, but was still an all star this year and had his best season ever defensively last year (2nd team all defense, 5th in DPOY voting, led the league in DWS and was third in DBPM). He wouldn't have to be the No. 1 option on offense here, like he is in ATL, but he'd be a huge upgrade, at both ends of the court, at the starting 4 spot. Ibaka is 4 years younger and is a better 3-point shooter, so he may be the better match. Not sure how we could get either player. Either would likely need to be a sign and trade, combined with moving some of our big contracts to teams under the cap. But, those are the types of 2-way players we need at the 3 and 4 spots to get this team to the next level. BNM
I am really intrigued about how the market is going to swing this summer. Will there be a correction back towards what we were used to seeing, or will people continue to spend big? Based on last summer, a lot of us were assuming that Millsap and Ibaka were going to get super paid. I guess we shall see.
Lillard was much better in the close games we've had since this thread, but "Lillard Time" just struck again. We wouldn't have even been in this game if it weren't for Lillard, but you can be the fastest runner in the world, and build a lead for your team in a relay, but that doesn't mean you can lay down and take a nap before you reach the finish line.
Yea he's got tunnel vision for better or worse sometimes. I happen to get home last night to basically only see the last play. Was pretty pissed Dame didn't hand it off to CJ who's man had lost him a bit.
Okay I admit I was salty right after the loss last night and sorry for my reaction but at the same time, this shit needs to go man. Bumping up this thread just to tell us this.... Yeah I didn't like the shot by lillard too. I don't think it's hero ball, I think that's his shot. Either goes in or not. I would of preferred a set play but considering this guy has played out of his mind since all star break and really is the main reason we might get the 8th season, I will let that shit slide, not wait hours and hours, wake up and then bump up a hare thread. Lillard time was never based on percentages. Lillard time for fans that know is based off his consistent shooting at times, deep back to back threes. Runs like last night in the 4th. Let's not forget cj also rushed a silly shot attempt at the end of the game. Whatever though, games over, tomorrow is a new one. Just tired of posters like you or mediocre man who only show up when lillard fucks up. When he's killing it, posters like you are silent. So I don't get you right point in posting to even begin with, are you just here to add to negativity or what? It's like how tunchi used to act. Same thing. What's the point? Move on
Even more so given that CJ has much better crunch time shooting stats than Dame. CJ should have at least had one of those shots.
Blaming Dame all the time, that's just annoying. Yes he took a nap in the end, so what? He is literally carrying this team to the 8th seed. Probably if our 55M bench could provide more 13 points Dame wouldn't have to play 40 mins and the game wouldn't be decided in the last possession.
It's not black or white and it's not an one on one game. If it was then it would be on him. He is the leader yes, but of a bunch of scrubs (with 2 exceptions), that's what he is! Just appearing whenever he fucks up and saying "fair or not it's on him" means you only have some basic knowledge of basketball. This is a team game and everyone has to perform. If your bench provides only 13 points and you are clearly not Michael Jordan then it's not only on you.
The fact that we would NOT EVEN BE IN THE DAMN GAME without his play, is exactly why you CAN'T blame him! Place that on the guys who didn't show up at all. This is getting old to tell you the truth. He IS our team. we have 10 less wins at least without him on our squad. He has limited NBA talent surrounding him and yet he STILL puts up numbers and takes over games. This is like living in a beautiful mansion and complaining about the kitchen sink backing up.......like owning and driving a Porsche and bitching about the seats being a bit uncomfortable.......like , oh nevermind.
Maybe you'll understand if I put it in your lingo......it would be like rolling the 20 sided dice, landing on a forbidden challenge box and complaining you don't have enough healing power to cast a mortice spell on the Randgriff Dragon.
It's difficult to perform at crunch time when you know your job is to stand around and watch 30-footers fly off the rim. No doubt the game should have been put away earlier by better team and bench play. But, when the game is close at the end--that is the best time to use all the tools the team has and be unpredictable. I like Dame's game on offense, but he would be much more effective at the end of games if he looked to CJ and Nurk more. Just as a reminder, for crunch time this season: Dame: 2pt: 36% 3pt: 29% McCollum: 2pt: 54% 3pt: 46% Why the hell isn't the ball in CJ's hands at the end of games like this???????? Because 29% of the time it is Lillard Time!!! 71% of the time it is not.
