They are different and they need each other, which is great for us. LA is a bread and butter player. Lillard is a burst scorer who excels in crunch time. Its apples and oranges, but if I could only keep one it would have to be Lillard. He just has that intensity, poise and character that is so rare. Even more rare then the incredibly rare talents LA brings to the table. We are amazingly lucky to have both on our team.
You basically asked me which guy I'd want hoisting up 3pt shots in quantity. Sure, Lillard, tho LMA is shooting .485 from 3pt.
I don't see shooting 3s when down 15 as a clutch situation. It's more of a best strategy thing, 3pt shots being worth more to the score than 2pt ones, per possession. Having monstrously huge games in the playoffs is clutch. A lot of guys disappear. Like the guy with the beard who flops all the time.
Nope. Lillard is definitely a clutch player. But that's not an either/or kind of thing. Wes is clutch, too.
Clutch has a particular meaning now though: +/-5 points, 5 minutes or less to go in 4th or OT . So shooting 3's down 15 is not clutch. It's a strategy. Both Dame and LA have 18 made FG's in clutch time this year. LA has a better FG% (48.6% versus 46.2%) but Dame's effective FG% is higher (53.8% vs 48.6%) because he's drilling threes at 40%. Wes is not so clutch: 34.8 FG%, eFG% of 45.7%... only 8 FGs made.
Or shooting with < 6 seconds on the shot clock. Or during playoff pressure minutes. Anyhow, 82games.com says Wes is 3 shots out of 100 worse than Lillard, "in the clutch." .333 vs. .300.
I refer to Lillard and Aldridge like the Shaq and Kobe Lakers. Shaq used to dominate and demand doubles throughout the game, then Kobe took over the 4th. I will say that Dame is the closer... The guy that is mentally stronger, Aldridge is getting there, which is weird for how old he is. I will say I love em both the same.
I am surprised to see this question even asked. This Blazer team would be good and are with Blake at PG. The would be looking up at .500 if the didn't have Lamarcus.
Lillard is clearly the better offensive player, I don't really think it's a stretch to say that. I will say however, when Aldridge is engaged, he is by far our best defensive player.
Huh? Wes, RoLo, and Batum are all far better defenders that LMA when equally engaged. And other than Batum, who has the intensity of a sloth half the time, that's pretty much always. LMA is a better defender than Lillard, if that's what you meant. Not really by all that much, though. Neither is particularly good at keeping his guy from spots he wants to get to. LMA just has the advantage of help defense being closer by.
Funny that you mention that. I do agree that Lopez is arguably our best "help defender" and Matthews is our best perimeter defender. Aldridge is still damn good on one on one defense. I believe the reason why our team is one of the best defensive teams in the league isn't about the individual accolades, but the collaboration of all parts working together in harmony. The chemistry is a big factor here.
