In his last 10 games Dame is shooting on average 25.2. times per game. He shot 27 times in last 6 games. Through out Lillard career he has never taken more than 19.8 shots per game. This season he is at 20.2, and its only above 20 because he been on a tear and taking more shots. 23/25 shots per game is now a must. He is much better shooter than anyone, Harden is almost at 24 shots per game, and Jordan and Kobe were always been 23/27 shots through their whole career, hell Iverson shot up to 27 times on average, Lillard can easily average 35 per game
I have been saying this for the whole season but nobody listened to me, before this hot stretch, Dame has had too many games where he shot like 15 times per game and i was like dude wtf are you doing you're a superstar shot the fucking ball. We wasted too many possessions this year on stupid Bazemore drives or melo taking bad midrange jumpers while Lillard having a very efficient Season? No more games from Dame with under 25 FGA !!!
Its not easy to get off 25 shots a game. If he wasnt hot, his 25 shots a game would result in below average efficiency and the team would be worse for it. Its not as simple as assigning a certain number of shots for a player to take in a game.
Exactly... Especially when the other teams are trying their best to make sure he takes 0 shots per game!
Asking a great scorer to always shoot and rarely pass is a bit, though not exactly like, asking a great hitter to always swing and never take pitches. Yeah, he can probably do more than his teammates on swings in general, but it's better to take the higher efficiency play the vast majority of the time. If it's a bad pitch to swing at, let it go. If it's a bad shot, or a wide open opportunity for a teammate, pass it. If your teammates simply can't come through, it really doesn't matter what strategy you employ anyway.
We could ask Lillard to either shoot the ball or pass it to someone ready for a catch-and-shoot (ideally either a 3-pointer or something at the hoop). That way the defense pays immediately for doubling or cheating on Lillard, instead of giving them a break by passing to a dribbler like CJ allowing the defense to re-set. We saw some of that when Lillard was on the court and Melo and CJ were on the bench. Lillard was ripping them up with his passing and shooting. That was fun to watch. It was Steve Nash-ish.
He needs to not have to shoot 25+ times per game. But right now he has to. In the short run, Dame will be able to meet every bar set for him but over the long run he will get overworked and less capable of heroics all the way through the playoffs and finals. For Dame and the Blazers to win the title, the rest of the team needs to step up. Good news is Whiteside is finally and we will be getting back several of our injured players allowing for less time by Hezonia and other less capable players.