If you're not on the L-Train, what are you waiting for?

As a matter of fact, early in last nights game, SA seemed to be careful not to lose LA on the pick-and-pop, forcing Damian to shoot or drive.

 

Efg doesn't account for how easy/difficult it is to get that particular shot.

 

I'd guess that you're the only one here that missed Blazer games because they were in Afghanistan, but I don't think that the amount of Blazer ball you've watched is all that uncommon here at all... hell, I've watched most every Blazer game for a lot longer then 2007. I guess this misconception explains why you're comfortable being condescending towards the masses who continue to disagree with you

STOMP

 

Of course. Damian is great, but a lot of what he gets to do is because of what LMA does and because of what Nic, Wes and Robin bring to the game. Basketball is first and foremost a team game. All of the players' individual games blend into the whole and, in the Blazers' case this year at least, result in a team that offensively is the best in the NBA. This nit picking of stats, while of some value, misses the mark, IMO. Stotts has done a great job of crafting an offense that takes advantage of his players' strengths. Is LMA the perfect player? No, of course not. But what he brings to the overall offensive game of the Blazers is essential and Stotts has constructed an offensive galaxy that revolves around the gravity of LMA's mid-range game, with dishes to the perimeter and an occasional streaking meteor of Lillard driving to the hoop. It's working well and you know what they say about trying to fix what ain't broken.

 

Of course, it's a team game. It takes all of them executing plays for easier scoring opportunities.

 

That's also one of the reasons he brought up eFG%.

 

And what's wrong with that argument is that if all a team offers up is 3pt shooting, the opponent has only to defend 3pt shooters and soon the percentage falls to .250 or so.

 

The argument is flawed in its simplicity. These shots don't go up in a vacuum. If you're solely focused on getting an open 3, it requires a lot of ball movement; things can get derailed on the way. A lot has to go right.

On the other hand, getting an open 17-footer for a big is much easier. Less has to happen. Fewer moving parts, if you will.

 

That's the problem with being married to advanced statistics. This particular one (eFG) fails to control for the times you run a play to get an open 3 and it gets derailed, resulting in a bad possession.

 

So just one question.... why is so much made about Damian missing layups but LA can jack long jumpers all day and it's fine?

 

Because Lillard shoots 38.86% at the rim, which is worse than every single one of LA's shot areas except 3-point range and the right baseline?

Simply put, LaMarcus is a better jump shooter than Lillard is a finisher right now.

 

Yes, and in a perfect world where every possession results in an ideal shot, I'll take Dame, Wes, or Nic for 3. In the real world where easy shots are hard to come by, I value having LMA's ability to shoot over somebody, albeit not at the same percentage as an open 3 by a shooting guard. I do agree with you that I'd like to see a few more up-and-unders, etc. on the low block. He looked good yesterday abusing Diaw.

 

No, I'm gonna sound like a politician, but they can be useful as long as you recognize their limitations.

 

I am thrilled with how Aldridge is playing right now, but I don't see how anyone can argue that he shoots a lot of low-percentage jumpers. It's not JUST the stats that say so. Anyone can plainly see that he takes quite a few long, low-percentage jumpers every game. Brian is merely pointing out that it exists, and as well as he's playing, if he stopped or cut down on those shots, he would be that much better.

 

But how does that factor in FTA and fouls that are put on the other team? It's not JUST about making or missing shots. Getting into the lane is important, and Dame seems to be one of the only guys on our team who tries to do it. James Harden has made a living off of just going into the lane and drawing fouls. The fucker attempted 25 foul shots in a game this year. It's an important aspect to the game and it's one that Dame is clearly trying to work on.

 

Sure he can work on it; I'm glad he's trying. But if a whistle is blown, the miss doesn't count. That he's shooting so poorly means fouls aren't getting called. So basically, that factor is baked in. If defenders start getting called for fouling Lillard, his percentage at the rim will naturally go up. But they're not, so it's not.

And frankly, I think he's already much closer to his natural "respect ceiling: than it seems. I did a calculation the other night that, if he got just one more whistle on a shot than he does now, he'd be up to 7 FTA's a night, which would be top 10 in the league. At his FT%, he'd be 3rd or 4th in the league in makes per night.

So it might be that he's trying too hard, or asking too much of the officials; he's never going to get half the calls he wants driving up the lane like that, and he might not even get 1/4 of what he wants. His game will likely change over time as he realizes this; and he'll probably get that extra whistle, so his percentage will go up.