Raptors NBA Draft Thread: Damian Lillard (POR)

[Darknemo2000]

Well if we pick him, I hope you're right cdel. It's just that judging by the amount of combo guards in the NBA, we should know that it's not as easy as it sounds to teach a score first guy how to run an offense

yeah thats my gripe. Many teams and many fans first off when they took a shoot first Pg talked that they will teach him play a team-basketball once he will have better talents around him but so very rare cases when it actually turned true.

In mot of the cases a trigger-happy PG will stay a trigger-happy PG and since he is the one running the offense that means you need to build a team around such guy cause such PG have troubles adjusting other system due to their mentality and type of play and I don't think Lilliard is the guy around whom you should build the team. He could be a nice adding piece, but only if he would be willing to adjust his game-style but the sad history of shooting first PG doing that doesn't make me very confident.

[BillyGM]

I have decided, I'm on his bandwagon right now. This kid has HTPC (Heart - Talent - Passion - Courage). Both Lamb and PJ3 misses Heart and Passion and I'm not sure about their courage.

[sca]

I have decided, I'm on his bandwagon right now. This kid has HTPC (Heart - Talent - Passion - Courage). Both Lamb and PJ3 misses Heart and Passion and I'm not sure about their courage.

What does him having a home theater PC has to do with anything?

Seriously though, it could be argued that three of the things you listed (heart, passion and courage) are the same thing.

[BillyGM]

I have decided, I'm on his bandwagon right now. This kid has HTPC (Heart - Talent - Passion - Courage). Both Lamb and PJ3 misses Heart and Passion and I'm not sure about their courage.

What does him having a home theater PC has to do with anything?

Seriously though, it could be argued that three of the things you listed (heart, passion and courage) are the same thing.

Heart - What kind of person you're
Passion - Love for the game
Courage - Having big balls

[BillyGM]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bEjoBzlq0I&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]

[3Si]

Dr M.

He's not a 2g he's a pg. he was in major consideration for pg of the year of which he was robbed IMO.

Your full of it if u think he's a 2g pretending to be a pg. I have no other way of putting it. You highlight package is pure garbage and short sighted.

The kid was the focus of everything for both teams and he executed very very well.

Your argument is full of holes and you didn't list a flaw in his game. All you said was he didn't pass enough but that's pure bs. He did pass he passed early in the clock ran a play and got the ball back. Later in games he was told to put his team on his back. Which he did.

Oscar Robertson isn't for the best 2g all of a sudden is it?
Edit that should read bob cousy

Best pg in this draft notes from media. Not best combo guard not best 2g it is best PG.

But the humble part at the end of your post is correct.

At to fga ratio is not a flaw it is an indication of how Weber was set to play.

"Pure garbage" reply to what I thought was a fair objective observation from DM. Putting Cousy and Lillard in the same post is more laughable than your typo of the Big O and Cousy. No matter how you want to put it, he will either be a shoot first PG or a combo guard, which to me is the same thing. I'm not saying he's bad, but like DM, if I wanted a shooting guard, I'd take Lamb over Lillard in a heart beat. We don't need another Bayless.

[cdel00]

Basing an opinion on a stitched together package of half a game is pure garbage.

Calling Lillard a 2G when he played nothing but PG is also pure garbage.

Face it, the analysis was well written but still the core of the argument was pure garbage.

I said I haven't read about a single flaw in his game. The closest thing to a flaw is a low release point on his jumper which was money from all over the court.
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As for the Cousy that is fact. Lillard was in the running for it and up until Marshall got hurt likely the lead candidate. My opinion is that Lillard was robbed of it because of the exposure Marshall had that Lillard didn't have.

Google Lillard Cousy and look for yourself.

Better yet prove me wrong find analysis that knocks lillard's game.

Dr. M didn't do that and niether will you.

Cheers
h

[sca]

How many assists was Lillard supposed to average with the scrubs on his team?

[cdel00]

I posrted this earlier in this thread have a read and enjoy

Lillard closes games in the paint and on the line 
http://www.wsusignpost.com/2012/03/06/w ... to-finals/

Two quick buckets from Tresnak and Wheelwright cut the lead to four and kept WSU in the game.
With six minutes to go, Lillard pulled the Wildcats within one with a drive inside and a layup, but the Vikings answered back with a 3-pointer from Chehales Tapscott.
Wheelwright kept the score close when he exploded to the hoop to make it 60-58.
Wheelwright said he thought of the game as any other and didn’t get caught up in the hype of playing a semifinal game.
“I didn’t look at it (as a tournament game),” Wheelwright said. “I was just being aggressive.”
With three minutes left, Lillard tied the game at 62. After getting a loose ball, he drove down the court and hit the layup.
Wheelwright gave the Wildcats their second lead of the game with a layup at the two-minute mark.
With 39 seconds remaining, Charles Odum went to the line for PSU with a chance to tie the game at 64, Odum hit one of the two shots, giving WSU a one point lead.
On the ensuing possession, Lillard got to the line after being fouled. Lillard converted both shots from the line, giving WSU a three-point lead with 29 seconds remaining. PSU was unable to come back and fell to the Wildcats.

Lillard showed very promising development in college getting much better every year. He was dominant since sophomore and this past year he was recognized for it:
http://www.weberstatesports.com/ViewArt ... EM_ID=8600

LILLARD NAMED BIG SKY CONFERENCE MVP
WSU junior Damian Lillard was named the Big Sky MVP last week after one of the best seasons in Weber State history. Lillard becomes just the fourth athlete in Big Sky history to win conference MVP honors twice in his career. He earned the honor as a sophomore in the 2009-10 season. He joins Harold Arceneaux (1999 and 2000) as the only other Wildcat to win the award twice and he is one of seven Wildcats to ever earn MVP honors since the league began the award in 1978-79. This is Lillard’s third season as a first team All-Big Sky selection, becoming just the 19th player in conference history and the fifth Wildcat to earn All-Conference honors three times.
Lillard has led the nation in scoring for most of the season and currently is second in the country with an average of 24.5 points per game, the best single-season average in WSU history. He has scored in double figures in all 28 games this season and has scored 20 or more points 18 times, 30 or more eight times, and has scored 40 or more points twice this season.
Lillard has led the Wildcats in scoring in 22 of 28 games during the regular season. He currently ranks second in WSU history in single-season scoring with 685 points in 28 games and needs just 29 more points to become the single-season leader. He is also currently 12th in Big Sky history in single-season scoring. Lillard has also made the most three-pointers in single-season history with 88 and has the fourth best single-season free throw percentage at 88.3 percent. He is also fourth in the Big Sky in assists and sixth in steals.
Lillard has appeared in 99 career games for the Wildcats and has started 94 games. He is second in WSU history in career scoring with 1,835 career points, which also ranks 10th in Big Sky history. He needs just two more three-pointers to become Weber State’s career leader in three-pointers. Last week he became the school’s career leader in free throws made with 489. He is also second in WSU history in career assists with 344. This season he has been named a finalist for the John Wooden and Oscar Robertson Player of the Year Awards. He is also a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award, recognizing the nation’s top point guard, and for the Lou Henson Award, the Mid-major Player of the Year.

http://www.bigskybball.com/2012/02/dami ... erica.html

Looking at the numbers, this is what I see about Damian Lillard's game:
- He is the best scoring PG in America - He leads the country in scoring, so obviously he is the leader among all PGs. In fact, nobody is really close. Isaiah Canaan of Murray State scores 18.9 PPG, but that is still more than six points per game off of Lillard's mark. Lillard has two forty point games this year, and has scored 30+ points seven different times this year. He lights up the scoreboard.
- He is the best rebounding PG among the top PGs - This is less important because a point guard's main function is not to rebound, but it goes to show that he has an excellent all-around game.
- He shoots free throws better than everyone else, and he gets to the line more than the rest - His FT percentage is great, and there are not many guys in the country that get to the line as much as he does (nearly eight times per game). If you are reading a blog about basketball, obviously I don't need to explain the importance of this.
- He is the most efficient offensive scorer among the group - This goes hand in hand with him being the best scoring PG, but I think the distinction is important to make that he puts up his numbers efficiently. I just talked about the FT shooting, but he shoots over 50% inside the arc and over 46% beyond the arc. Aaron Craft has a higher percentage of 2's made (on more limited attempts), and Pierre Jackson shoots a little better from downtown, but nobody combines those things with the propensity to get to the stripe and knock them down quite like he does.
- He takes great care of the ball - Jordan Taylor is a guy that has basically made a living on not turning the ball over, but Lillard's TO Rate is a little bit lower even than his so far this season. Lillard's TO Rate combined with his usage rate is quite simply exceptional.

Honestly just honestly watch this vid of his freshman year and feel lucky he might be around when we pick:)
[

[fredericklove]

Why isn't he a. No.1 pick like wall or Irving if he is without flaws and his game is THIS good?

[ATLTimekeeper]

Haven't seen him play yet, but just from highlights there are some things I like:

-dribbles under control, head up.
-has a floater, mid-range pull-up, decent three point range.
-athletic
-ability to alter shot angle

Seems very similar to Mo Williams, but with maybe better character.

[cdel00]

Davis is way better

[RocLaFamilia]

Just looked at a few highlights, is (a bigger) Ty Lawson a good comparison for him?

[ATLTimekeeper]

Just looked at a few highlights, is (a bigger) Ty Lawson a good comparison for him?

Lawson seems like more of a speed-demon and is more of a pure point. His game is more about beating people to spots on the floor. Doesn't seem like a good match.

[SwiftyV]

From the good fellas at Yay Areas Finest:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlhshwYutU[/youtube]

[shortmikeshortt]

From the good fellas at Yay Areas Finest:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlhshwYutU[/youtube]

God damn it I'm gonna cry if he's not a Raptor. Real tears.

[C_Money]

Well if we pick him, I hope you're right cdel. It's just that judging by the amount of combo guards in the NBA, we should know that it's not as easy as it sounds to teach a score first guy how to run an offense

yeah thats my gripe. Many teams and many fans first off when they took a shoot first Pg talked that they will teach him play a team-basketball once he will have better talents around him but so very rare cases when it actually turned true.

In mot of the cases a trigger-happy PG will stay a trigger-happy PG and since he is the one running the offense that means you need to build a team around such guy cause such PG have troubles adjusting other system due to their mentality and type of play and I don't think Lilliard is the guy around whom you should build the team. He could be a nice adding piece, but only if he would be willing to adjust his game-style but the sad history of shooting first PG doing that doesn't make me very confident.

There's nothing wrong with shoot first PG's. Its the way the league is going these days.

[BillyGM]

He's going to turnout 2nd best player after A. Davis in this draft.

[DG88]

From the good fellas at Yay Areas Finest:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOlhshwYutU[/youtube]

Nice find

[OAKLEY_2]

Watch Lillard go to Portland at 6 and no later than 10. Might be the safest pick available if still on the board at 8. If BC is doing his job he would be trying extremely hard to flip 8 for 6. If Barnes doesn't go 4th to the Cavs he is likely available at 6. If Barnes gets picked by the Cavs then Beal/Drummond/Robinson are in play at 6 which gives us either the long SF we covet, the top ranked shooting guard or a big with upside we can possibly trade. If we take Barnes at 6 one of Lillard/Sullinger/Lamb are guaranteed to be there at 8 and they grab another body or pick like Ed. Portland is not in the driver seat. BC could say we are throwing 10+ at Batum but we'll back off if you flip picks with us. Would Portland pay that when they are in an even bigger rebuild than the Raps? Hard to say. If Batum is our guy we could throw almost all our space at him also meaning Lillard would be a better fit at 8 than Lamb.