I wonder what the scouting report says about Lillard's defense...

...because teams are starting to hone in.

I've noticed people often say things like "these guys just went off making ridiculous shots" and granted, many of them are amazing shots. But there's also a psychological edge to it. They see the Blazers on their schedule and some PG's are salivating over their matchups against Lillard. He's gaining a reputation on defense now and it's so bad even Rubio managed to get some confidence. In a conference full of star PG's, playoffs are going to be tough.

Is it really just a matter of his defensive stance? I know Dame is smaller and has short arms, but I wouldn't be surprised if Isaiah Thomas (Kings) is a better defender right now
(Edit: Okay, Thomas is slightly worse according to DRTG)

 

Most of the time it seems like he doesn't care to try. He only cares about offense.. That shit pisses me off. Defense should always come first.

 

I disagree. Brandon Roy didn't care about defense. I think Lillard tries... he just isn't very good. I think a lot of it is just footwork and positioning. I think he could improve if he actually had a decent defensive coach work with him. I don't think it's a lack of effort at all.

 

I bet there scouting report looks something like this.

Damien Lillard

Offense: Force him off the 3 point line and towards the hoop. Guy cant make a layup to save his life but he will destroy us from the 3 line

Defense: Drive by him all day long and get as many free layups as we want

 

He doesn't care about D? Are we watching the same games because I notice Lillard trying a ton of D and he expends a lot of energy on it but he is just clueless on how to defend. The effort is there he just needs a coach to teach him the ins and outs of defending as a PG.

 

I think he's fine in post up situations. He has trouble (BIG TIME) allowing dribble penetration. Dude gets blown by wayyyy to often.

 

And that is fixable at least as it has more to do with footwork than effort.

 

His wingspan is a little under 6'8"

 

It says he stands straight up on the perimeter, and for some reason, lacks the ability or desire to get into a defensive crouch. Maybe he gets too tired for having to do so much on offense?

With his athleticism, defense becomes about effort, conditioning, and dedication. I think he has the conditioning part down pat. It's improving on the other two that are going to make him the leader of an NBA champion, and I think he has it in him to do so.

 

Dame has been finishing at the rim a lot lately.

 

Very few players, and almost no PG's come into the league knowing how to play good to great NBA defense.

College ball makes few man-to-man defensive demands of a player and it gets little focus from the coaching staff.

Whether a player becomes a stellar defender in the NBA is dependent upon having a coach who demands defense AND is capable of teaching it.

Lillard has neither.

 

All I know about that scouting report is that it is probably one paragraph long

 

Nash won a couple MVPs without ever playing a lick of defense

 

That's because D'Antoni's system makes pass-first point guards look like gods. The fact that he's made Felton, Blake, and Marshall look like All-Stars seriously diminishes Nash's achievements.

 

I don't think it's so much that he's a bad 1 on 1 defender, but it's how the Blazers play the pick and roll. The biggest struggle I see is how he deals with screens. Teams eat us up on those high picks. Damian tries to fight through, but he's so far behind and no one picks up the PG.

But I see some of you blaming Rubio's scoring output on Lillard, but this isn't accurate. Rubio only made one shot against Lillard, and it was the best contested of the night (aside from the BS goal tend)

#1. Rubio catches and shoots of a pick, Lillard goes underneath and is able to contest the shot but Rubio hits it. It's just a good shot.

#2. Rubio goes right down the lane against Earl Watson, no help, scores the layoup

#3. Watson goes well underneath a Turiaf pick and Rubio hits the short jumper.

#4. Watson looked like he was trying to funnel Rubio to the baseline, so Rubio just takes a few dribbles and pulls up for a wide open jump shit.

#5. CJ McCollum totally loses Rubio on defense and was on the opposite side of the court while Rubio went out for a wide open 3.

#6. Rubio makes an open 16 pull up jump shot against Batum, who had given him a lot of space.

#7. Rubio drives right past Batum one on one, but Batum blocks it cleanly and gets the bs goal tend

#8. Rubio trails on a fast break for a wide open 3. Batum was supposed to be on him.

 

I don't care how he shot that night, I'd still let Rubio take the shot over a driving layup or pass.

 

That must have been a lot of work; thanks for posting that.

 

When did any of those guys look like allstars?

 

Felton when he played for D'Antoni in New York.

Marshall most recently. Blake has looked like an actually decent point guard, so not necessarily an All-Star.