Dame will shoot from half court this season.

Dame is the most down to earth star and probably the most down to earth player in the league. Do you not watch/listen/read all of the interviews from his teammates and opponents. Shooting shots from half court is not disrespectful to anyone, that is an absolutely foolish notion. If he can make them like he did in that video, I better see it in a game. It's another weapon for his team. It scores points and spaces the floor unlike anything we've ever seen.

Dame does have weaknesses but the source of those has nothing to do with attitude. He needs to get rid of the ball earlier when being blitzed but it's a very fine line and the game is very fast. If he holds it long enough he can get serious advantages for his team. If they don't trap right he can split it to get a 5 on 3 advantage and if they give him a passing lane then he can get his teammates a 4 on 3 advantage. He doesn't turn the ball over a lot in those situations, he gets the ball to his teammates in positions that don't exploit the trap... that's it. This does one very important thing... it takes him out of the play because after they trap they play ball denial. So he has to get better at that... not an attitude problem.

Dame can still get better at pick and roll defense. He still, all of these years in, gets stuck on screens (far less than earlier in his career) but he has seriously improved his one on one and off ball defense. Stotts could do better covering for this weakness and has at times but he still drops the big and that hurts the team and the perception of Dame's defensive prowess. Dame doesn't seem to worry about because I've never seen the guy show frustration towards his coach.

I've never seen him get aggressive with anyone on the team with the exception of himself. The guy is the ultimate team player. He constantly gives the ball to CJ so CJ can iso... that's the opposite of a superstar attitude. He was passing the ball more and better than ever last season. His handle is the opposite of what you were complaining about earlier it's not flashy but it is effective. He is constantly breaking opponents off and getting to the whole or drawing the D in for the kick out. The fact that the guy has a tool that only a few players in the world have (the extremely long three) has nothing to do with anything but practice and discipline. This whole thing is bullshit. The fact that you said "even a top 10" at anything is so incredibly outlandish. Even the best players in the league aren't top ten in the league at all things. By the way, it's really hard to tell who the best ball handlers in the league are because most people think it's about the flashy moves and not what is effective in games. Among PGs with the highest usage in the league Dame has the least turnovers... that's effective ball handling.

 

A point guard shooting from half court blows me away. He would get chastised for it in any market accept Portland. Man, the game has changed!

 

C'Mon bro..... we don't treat people different here at S2 based on if they are new or not, or by how many posts they have. We are better than that aren't we? With all that's going on in this world, we can't have any more division. Let's all get in the spirit of the holidays and treat each other with nothing but love........FAMS!

 

He’s a billionaire who calls himself “dame dolla.” I’m pretty sure there’s more “down to earth” players. He’s not as bad as the other superstars but he’s still a typical Portland yuppie.

means nothing. All the lesser players always kiss the star players’ ass because they know they’ll be cut or traded if they don’t gel with The franchise player.

It’s not a good thing to be well liked by your opponents. They probably “love” that he shoots half court shots instead of driving and elbowing them in the chest.

all he can do is beat people off the dribble with foot speed. That’s not what “ball handling” encompasses. He’s not good at keeping a dribble in traffic. He’s not good at breaking past full court presses. If you’re a good ball handler, that stuff is child’s play. There are college players that can break a press better than Lillard. 45 year old Jason Williams can do it better than Lillard. Players like Steve Nash, Curry, and Kyrie make it look like Lillard isn’t in the same league.

Lillard is mediocre at handling the ball by All Star PG standards. He could easily improve this but he spends more time shooting crazy shots to “prove something” instead of working on improving traditional PG skills. Stotts is a good coach but he should be fired for allowing this.

 

Good first posts. Rile up the oversensitive, celebrity-obsessive normies.

 

You agree with what he said about dame and his personality and relationship with his teammates? If so, I'd love to hear where you got your intel.

 

I'd like to see a 4 pt line someday.

Right now, shooting 50.0% from 2 pt range averages 1 pt per shot (2 x 0.500 = 1).

The equivalent value from 3 pt range is 33.3% (3 x 0.333 = 1).

To make a 4 pt shot worth taking, you'd have to be able to hit 25% of those shots (4 x 0.250 = 1). Should that 4 pt line be around 35 ft? Or half-court (43 ft)?

 

I'm sorry, I think that's wrong. To start with, I watched game 5 and the Lakers didn't trap CJ much at all till the 4thQ, and then CJ couldn't run the offense either. The Lakers had not one worry about CJ being able to beat them. That was obvious. He scored 36 and the Lakers won that game pretty easily

secondly, the real problem isn't Dame's passes out of the double teams, it's that the guys he's passing to can't do shit with the ball in terms of running any team offense, and that includes CJ. Once the ball is out of Dame's hands, the playoff offense stalls over and over and over. Rinse & Repeat. If simply getting the ball to another Blazer was the key, Portland wouldn't fail so miserably. But they do fail and that's because Portland doesn't have a single player that can consistently punish a defense for focusing so heavily on Dame

Dame is 6'2 and he's often double-teamed by two players 3-8" taller. He's not Lebron or Giannis who can see over a double, or bogart their way thru. Why the fuck isn't Portland prepared better after 6 years of that shit? They know it's coming; in fact, if the Blazers make it to the playoffs this season we know for certain we'll see it again. So far, the only thing I've seen the Blazers try and do to defeat the Dame-centric defenses is the ridiculously remedial tactic of other players bringing the ball up the court. That's been the only real adjustment over 6 long years.

even when Dame has given up the ball, defenses are still twisted completely to wherever he is on the floor. Every opposing player is focused on Dame first and the rest of the Blazers second. And that defense works, again and again. That's pretty clear evidence that Dame passing the ball "more cleanly" won't solve a damn thing

but it's not really a scheme issue. It's a roster issue and a talent issue. Role players aren't going to fix the problem. The fix hasn't been on the roster to this point, and I still don't believe it is

 

I say we get rid of the 3 pt line or expand it

basketball is nothing but people jacking up threes nowadays. It was far more entertaining when players like Kobe, Shaq, Jordan, and Magic were playing.

The old school Low post and mid range fights were gritty battles of strength and wit.

Now the “competition” is just to “get a hand up” while teams take turns shooting 3s like they’re in an empty Gym.

 

none of those guys spent a single season in the NBA when there wasn't a 3 point line

I'd say defensive rule changes have had a much bigger impact on 'entertainment' for hardcore basketball fans than the 3 point line. Damn near eliminating any kind of physical play on the perimeter has neutered defenses and opened up the 3 point carnival

I remember what Maurice Lucas said; it was something like: "when I played, it was only a hundred dollar fine for punching somebody, so why not?" I liked the NBA those days. I like it now too though

 

OK, you really need to stop talking out of your ass. You really have no clue what you are talking about. Dame is worth 70 million dollars... so to say a billionaire would be a ridiculous and gross exaggeration. The guy give tons of money to charity and to help people he grew up with in Oakland California (not "yuppie" Portland) start new businesses and get educations. DOLLA stands for Different On Levels the Lord Allows... it's got nothing to do with money it's so people like you make assumptions and fools of yourselves.

Every "lesser player" in the league and guys above Dame's status have nothing but good things to say about him. You don't get a reputation for being the best teammate and high profile guy in the league because people are trying to appease your three point shooting. His opponents don't like him because he's easy to beat they respect the person he is. He's really hard to beat actually because he can hit that three at any time. The shit you say makes no fucking sense dude.

Your grip on basketball and reality is very loose. You think ball security means nothing and you think flash like Jason Williams showed is what makes someone a great dribbler. Go put on an And 1 mix tape and ask yourself why those guys aren't in the league. Your comment about Dame not being able to dribble through traffic is baseless and I already explained why he isn't beating the trap but I didn't mention that Dame is getting trapped sooner and higher than any player in the history of the league.

Dude the post you made after you replied to me told me everything I need to know. You don't value the three pointer which is now being made efficiently and controlled not bailing guys out. So you don't like current basketball. You don't even know that they extended the three point line during the careers you mentioned you'd rather be watching. That's right the three point line used to be closer. As far as when it wasn't there you again have no idea what your talking about so I'll break it down really simply for you. Kobe was younger than Shaq, Shaq's younger than Jordan and Jordan is younger than Magic. The three point line was instituted the summer before Magic started his NBA career.

Just stop bullshitting dude. Give your opinions, that's fine but don't act like they are facts or you know anything that you're fucking talking about.

 

I agree with you that the concept is wild to think about.

If he misses his first two, or even one with 5 minute left after he's brought is back in a close game, there will be people here saying "I don't care what anyone says, shooting from half court is a bad shot." We've already had this drill when he started shooting from 26' and then 30'. If people were upset by that, these half-courters will have them throwing a fit.

 

That 2.5 shit is rich. It's out of the Jeff Van Gundy book of ridiculous rules. Guys like Dirk and LaMarcus have made their living in the mid-range and the majority of the league makes theirs at the hoop. There are still more two pointers shot than threes. The whole narrative that the three pointer is ruining the game is nonsense. The only think that you could do to bring back the mid-range jumper after analytics proved that taking them only makes sense for specialists is something ludicrous like making a made field goal outside the key worth 4 points, keep current three pointers at 3 points and anything inside the paint worth two. That won't make the game more exciting for almost all people but it might appease you.

 

This is a terrific weapon when you're down 2 and out of timeouts with a few seconds left and need a bucket...inbounds pass to center court...BAM!!!! Logo Lillard!

 

I wonder if they could just eliminate the three point shot and go back to 1977 style of 2s?

Players are so good shooting threes defense would have to guard guys outside even if its worth 2. Dame and CJ can make over 50% of them if open.

2 pointers, footwork, passing, motion, offensive systems, post game all the sudden would matter again.

Maybe have 3 pointers only in the 2nd and 4th quarters. Or maybe three point line should just go back to 30 feet.

I can't stand the current Rockets style of basketball jacking up threes all day and running into refs. But I can't deny its statistically superior. The rules need to be changed.

 

There was an incentive to shoot threes when the rule was implemented which I guess is ok? The problem is now you have everyone jacking threes including bigs. So why not add another incentive to encourage more passing and more paint production.
Qtrs 1 & 3 no change. Qtrs 2 & 4 and overtime all scores are 2 points, and ft's are 1/2 point.

 

if that’s true that is sad. He’s earned about a quarter of a million dollars from bball contracts alone and only has 70 million to show for it?

oh yeah I forgot he lives a typical playboy lifestyle and goes clubbing all the time so he blew through all his money like it was water instead of providing for his grandchildren. So “down to earth.”

well yeah it was meant to be an exaggeration since you tried calling him “down to earth” as if he would even stop to talk to you for 2 min at the airport.

he gives a moderate amount given his wealth. He’s no great philanthropist.

damn you really drank the koolaid huh

never said he was a bad person, just a typical rich nba player with a big ego.

did you watch Williams after his first 2 years in Sacramento? Obviously not. He was one of the most fundamentally sound PGA in history.

youre mad.