I had my doubts from the beginning. I compared him with Mo Williams (before Mo was ever on our team). I thought he wouldn't approach Chauncey Billups (whom Olshey compared him with). I was wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Whatever happens against Memphis, he has moved to the front of the All-Time Blazers. Let us bask in his greatness.
It’s crazy that he bumped his three point shooting percentage to 40% and his scoring average to 30 ppg in the “last” game of the season.
That raises an interesting point: is/are the "play-in" game(s) against Memphis part of the regular season? Part of the playoffs? Neither?
Dame as the super star. A solid core around him. If we can stay healthy, perhaps pick up one more key component (SF?), I think good things are coming the Blazers way soon.
my one concern: in the last 7 seasons, Lillard has averaged over 36 minutes one time, in 2017-18 when he averaged 36.6. This season, he's averaged 37.5. And in the bubble he's averaged 42. And, he turned 30 a month ago. now, the mitigation is he had 5 months off before these last 8 games. So, it's not like he was doing that in the last 8 games of a regular season. Still, at 30 years old, that heavy a burden can take a toll. And we know teams are going to run him thru screen after screen on defense while doubling and trapping him steadily on offense. And play him as physical as the officials will allow. Anything to take him out of the game and wear him down Blazers really need to win Saturday and give Dame an extra day off.
mj aVeraged 40 minutes a game or more the three seasons before he started winning. Then he averaged no less than 37 the next few seasons while winning. When he came back from baseball he averaged 38 per game the next three years. Mj was 31 when they started their second run if three.
I was thinking yesterday, has Dame caught up to Curry's MVP peak? Dame's one weakness is the same as Steph's: they're not pure point guards and are susceptible to trapping defenses forcing them to give the ball up. (I think Steph is still better at making the decision quick enough to punish the defense.) The main thing that separated them prior to this year was Steph's 3-pt percentage pointed to him being a slightly purer shooter. Dame has gotten so good at the deep three, though, that I'm not sure there's any gap there.
Absurdly, the answer is "neither": If a player scores in a play-in-game, does he make a basket? is the new "If a tree falls in a forest"
So Dame could be the all time scoring leader for play in games. And assist leader. He could go down as the greatest play in player of all time!
I see.... If a Grizzly gets "Dame'd" on a Saturday, did that Grizzly even exist or was it just a prayer in the mind of a Laker?
If he keeps playing like this, they’re going to have to rename it the Hall of Dame. Edit: I see Rasta beat me with the punch line. My hat's off to him.
