The hell are you talking about? Lillard DESTROYED the Jazz in the 4th quarter last game. He was magnificent.
He has slumps shooting the ball but his defense has been consistently atrocious. His offense isn't the problem. Curry was lighting him up so Stotts switched and put him on Klay for a few stretches .....who then went off. Silver lining: HOU PG rotation isn't anything to worry about. *knock on wood*
Let's be honest though, how many people can guard Curry? The guy is insanely quick and he has a quick release like Ray Allen in his prime. How do you guard that?
The issue is not the last two games, or how much we won by, or how difficult the opponents were. The issue is Lillard's performance, which has fallen off markedly. Yes, he had a great fourth quarter against Utah, but he didn't do much at all through the first 3 quarters. And last night he didn't do much at all the entire game. And in recent games his scoring production has been declining, or hasn't anyone noticed? I am amused by the people who put on blindfolds and walk around with their hands in front of them saying, "Lillard is great, Lillard is great . . . " Never been that kind of fan myself. Lillard has looked rather ordinary lately, and that's a fact. When he plays great, I will commend him for that. The guy is a super talent. I'm hoping he turns it on when the playoffs start. It is beyond my imagination to understand how anyone could watch last night's game and say Lillard did just fine.
It's very difficult to stop Curry. I don't blame Lillard or Matthews for their performance in that regard. I blame Lillard for not bringing the same intensity to his own offensive game. Last night he brought the ball down and passed it off before he got to the top of the key--over and over and over. He didn't seem to want to shoot, or to create his own shot, or to drive and dish. It looked like he had checked out mentally.
Lillard was only on Curry in the first quarter. Curry had an average or under average first quarter compared to his norm.
I've noticed this attitude from Dame before. He coasts. He only turns it on when he thinks it matters. I'm REALLY hoping we don't see this in the playoffs. I'm hoping he just brings his A+ intensity all the time.
I agree that Dame's production has dipped of late. I think he'll be fine though. Point guard is a tough position to play in the NBA.
Dame will be fine, all players have these 'off' stretches for the numbers. Turnovers...brutal, but that wasn't all on Dame...lots of soft passes that need to stop. Everyone on the team needs to have better court awareness of where these defenders are, who's going to leak out and steal. No doubt GSW made us pay hard for each of our mistakes. Our mistakes are there lots of time but not all teams make us pay for em like GSW did tonight. Dame likes to (either by choice or just flow of the game) try to come alive in the 3rd or 4th quarter. He's said it many times he's trying to get the rest of his team going in the 1st and 2nd. Problem is if he doesn't create a spark for himself early its easy to either: A) Allow the defense to focus on the other 4 on the court B) Never get that fire ignited by the 2nd half. Dame should be a guy who can go get you 2-3 baskets in the 1st and 2nd quarter each then look to be 4-5 in the 3rd and 4th. Keeps the defense honest if he's getting his shots throughout the game and keeps the floor open for others. Sometimes it just looks like we are making it harder for ourselves and are okay with taking some really forced shots during the possession.
I must have missed that game. Mo was 8-10 from the field with three assists and zero turnovers. More importantly I think he's fitting in to the offense better and using his teammates more. He's generally the same player, but it seems to me that he's not forcing it or trying to do it all by himself as much. I much prefer how Mo is playing now than the first quarter of the season.
So maybe Dame conserves his energy when he can and lets his teammates do some work. A guy named Brandon Roy used to do exactly that, then use his reserve tank to win games in the fourth quarter.
You can't deny Mo was struggling early in the season, but I agree for a vast majority Mo has been great.
For the record, saying Lillard has looked "ordinary, and that's a fact"... is not a fact. It's an opinion. Just needed to make that clear.
off games happen to the best of em. even when he was playing terrible... he got double teamed on the inbound and wes had to take that last shot. dudes a baller. don't hate.
You make your reputation in the playoffs. I have every confidence in Dame that he will take his game to another level next week.
