Damian Lillard struggles big time right now

[Green89]

I bet it's the Stotts thing that had something to do with it, combined with he didn't want to be there in the first place, combined with him aging a bit.

So when stotts left Dame decided, you know what, if he's gone I'm just not going to play good? I believe he had added Milwaukee to his trade list (if he hadn't, his whole wanting to win a title thing was complete BS, as Giannis is the best player he's ever played with, by far). The aging thing is legit, and his slowing down was masked the last couple years on Portland, where he had free reign to score with 0 expectations. Now he's got expectations for the first time, no more hiding in Portland posting phony scoring numbers.

Not that he purposely doesn't play good because Stotts left, but I'm sure it left a bad taste in his mouth and doesn't help at all with motivation. Stotts was the one common piece he was used to from his Portland days, in a city and new team he didn't want to play for, and then that's suddenly gone. I'm sure it was a distraction for him and certainly didn't help him mesh with his new team.

[ITYSL]

Small sample size.

Here's an 8-game stretch last season where he was about as bad: https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/l/lillada01/gamelog/2023#716-723-sum:pgl_basic

Dame operates on Dame Time. Engines will be revving at 100% come playoffs and the Bucks will be a buzzsaw.

Conference finals will be Bucks vs. Sixers. Book it. If either team is unlucky with injuries, then the Celtics or Heat might sneak in, only to get beat soundly. Book it.

The true.

[Exp0sed]

Bucks made a risky trade that seems to have back fired. They still need to pay him a ton for 3 more years after this one.
Miami probably happy they got to keep Herro, who is outplaying Dame so far.
Celtics look like the biggest winner out of all of this, getting Jrue really solidified their roster.

I wonder how this turns out in the end, so far this is a disaster for the Bucks and there is a ton of pressure for it to work this year, every year after it just gets less and less likely.

What a nonsense post. Dame is coming off an injury, is adjusting to a new city, and hasn’t found chemistry yet with his new teammates.

chemistry alone doesn't explain shooting splits being this bad

still have plenty of time to turn it around and he'll def be better than what he has been so far for the Bucks, but there's more to it than just adjustments and acclimation to the new team

bad chemistry doesn't make a lights out scorer shoot this badly

[Profound23]

Small sample size.

Here's an 8-game stretch last season where he was about as bad: https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/l/lillada01/gamelog/2023#716-723-sum:pgl_basic

Dame operates on Dame Time. Engines will be revving at 100% come playoffs and the Bucks will be a buzzsaw.

Conference finals will be Bucks vs. Sixers. Book it. If either team is unlucky with injuries, then the Celtics or Heat might sneak in, only to get beat soundly. Book it.

The true.

I posted about this as soon as the Bucks traded for him.

He always starts slow. Mix in the fact he is dealing with some family issues, adapting to a new team, with a rookie head coach who appears lost (so far) and I am not worried. They have over 70 games to figure it out.

Also, I think the East is a 3-team race with Boston, Milwaukee, Philly. Barring injuries, no other team will make the ECF besides these three.

[MartyConlonOnTheRun]

Give it some time. Blockbuster trades tend to have rough starts. The team needs to figure out it's new identity. The Big 3 Heat had a team only meeting 17 games into their first season because their start was so disappointing, still made it to the Finals that year

The Kawhi trade to Toronto made them champs right away..

The Gasol trade to the Lakers, - the team didn’t miss a beat from the get go & led them all the way to the Finals same year..

Malone / GP signing to the 2004 lakers led them all the way to the finals. They also started out hot. Just sputtered in the finals.

AD trade to the Lakers. Had the league best record then won it all on same year..

KG & Ray Allen signing , Boston had a really hot start and won it all..

I guess my point is, it’s either you have it or you don’t. In fact, the Miami Heat appears to be the exception, & they still lost to the Mavs in the finals.


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I'm not excited about how Dame is playing but he is notorious for rough starts and they held him out of activities to prevent injury prior to a trade. He is looking out of shape, which is horrible for a guard in his 30s, but let's wait until December to see what is happening.

[Iwasawitness]

Give it some time. Blockbuster trades tend to have rough starts. The team needs to figure out it's new identity. The Big 3 Heat had a team only meeting 17 games into their first season because their start was so disappointing, still made it to the Finals that year

This isn't really comparable. The big three Miami Heat had to all make big adjustments to playing with each other while dealing with limited depth. So much of their success depended on those three players which is such a flawed way to build a team. It's actually pretty amazing that they even made the finals that season taking all of that into consideration.

Damian's coming to the Bucks being tasked with doing pretty much what he did over in Portland, only this time he's not the first option on offense. That's not much of an adjustment. He's still pretty much got all the room in the world to operate and work with, he's just not finding his offense the same way he could there.

Regardless though, this doesn't necessarily strike me as him having adjustment issues, but more so just the fact that his shot just isn't falling to start the season. He'll snap out of the funk he's in.

Small sample size.

Here's an 8-game stretch last season where he was about as bad: https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/l/lillada01/gamelog/2023#716-723-sum:pgl_basic

Dame operates on Dame Time. Engines will be revving at 100% come playoffs and the Bucks will be a buzzsaw.

Conference finals will be Bucks vs. Sixers. Book it. If either team is unlucky with injuries, then the Celtics or Heat might sneak in, only to get beat soundly. Book it.

The true.

I still have no idea where this faith people have in Miami is coming from. They aren't making the ECF.

[Madvillainy2004]

Since this thread popped up I'm now convinced Dame will score 40 points with 8 3s his next game lol

[ITYSL]

Small sample size.

Here's an 8-game stretch last season where he was about as bad: https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/l/lillada01/gamelog/2023#716-723-sum:pgl_basic

Dame operates on Dame Time. Engines will be revving at 100% come playoffs and the Bucks will be a buzzsaw.

Conference finals will be Bucks vs. Sixers. Book it. If either team is unlucky with injuries, then the Celtics or Heat might sneak in, only to get beat soundly. Book it.

The true.

I posted about this as soon as the Bucks traded for him.

He always starts slow. Mix in the fact he is dealing with some family issues, adapting to a new team, with a rookie head coach who appears lost (so far) and I am not worried. They have over 70 games to figure it out.

Also, I think the East is a 3-team race with Boston, Milwaukee, Philly. Barring injuries, no other team will make the ECF besides these three.

People say that, but then the Heat show up at the end. Who knows what they'll do at the trade deadline, and with Spo coaching, you just never know. They are almost always right there.

[ITYSL]

Damian's coming to the Bucks being tasked with doing pretty much what he did over in Portland, only this time he's not the first option on offense. That's not much of an adjustment.

Yes it is. Of course it is.

[VaDe255]

Bucks made a risky trade that seems to have back fired.

How did it backfire?

He's a Miami fan. But agreed, nothings backfired. If by 20 games and it's the same result, then they'll probably need to fire coach Griffin.

Sending Jrue to the Celtics and seeing Dame struggle with career-low numbers seems quite significant, doesn't it? I'm not suggesting that Dame can't improve, but the expectation was certainly higher than his current performance. It's way below what was anticipated. While it's true that a season can't be judged solely on the first 10 games, but this looks really dire right now.

[ITYSL]

How did it backfire?

He's a Miami fan. But agreed, nothings backfired. If by 20 games and it's the same result, then they'll probably need to fire coach Griffin.

Sending Jrue to the Celtics and seeing Dame struggle with career-low numbers seems quite significant, doesn't it? I'm not suggesting that Dame can't improve, but the expectation was certainly higher than his current performance. It's way below what was anticipated. While it's true that a season can't be judged solely on the first 10 games, but this looks really dire right now.

Jrue's production and efficiency is super low too. Fewest ppg since his rookie year. Fewest apg since 2012. Worst eFG since 2019.

Adjustment takes time.

The true.

[Michael Jordan]

Problem isn't Dame but rather their guard depth which they can potentially upgrade in the buyout market.

I think they'll be fine in the post-season

[Iwasawitness]

Damian's coming to the Bucks being tasked with doing pretty much what he did over in Portland, only this time he's not the first option on offense. That's not much of an adjustment.

Yes it is. Of course it is.

No it's... really not. If you're able to do pretty much the same thing as before, only on less shot attempts, then no it isn't.

[Profound23]

He's a Miami fan. But agreed, nothings backfired. If by 20 games and it's the same result, then they'll probably need to fire coach Griffin.

Sending Jrue to the Celtics and seeing Dame struggle with career-low numbers seems quite significant, doesn't it? I'm not suggesting that Dame can't improve, but the expectation was certainly higher than his current performance. It's way below what was anticipated. While it's true that a season can't be judged solely on the first 10 games, but this looks really dire right now.

Jrue's production and efficiency is super low too. Fewest ppg since his rookie year. Fewest apg since 2012. Worst eFG since 2019.

Adjustment takes time.

The true.

Yep, I love Jrue. He is struggling too. Come playoff time he will be locked in on defense (all of the time) and adequate on offense (at times).

[VaDe255]

He's a Miami fan. But agreed, nothings backfired. If by 20 games and it's the same result, then they'll probably need to fire coach Griffin.

Sending Jrue to the Celtics and seeing Dame struggle with career-low numbers seems quite significant, doesn't it? I'm not suggesting that Dame can't improve, but the expectation was certainly higher than his current performance. It's way below what was anticipated. While it's true that a season can't be judged solely on the first 10 games, but this looks really dire right now.

Jrue's production and efficiency is super low too. Fewest ppg since his rookie year. Fewest apg since 2012. Worst eFG since 2019.

Adjustment takes time.

The true.

Jrue's role on the Celtics isn't primarily about scoring. His eFG is above his career average, you can even expect some decline due to his age so this isn't really sticking out, any drop in his production is relatively minor, around 10%.
He fits there like a glove and KP is posting career high efficiency numbers on offense, all of that translates to team success as well.

In contrast, Dame's situation is quite different. His production has declined by about 25%, that looks way more significant.
This isn't prime LeBron/Dwade/Bosh Heatles team that could afford a long adjustment period. It's an aging Bucks team that needs to figure this out asap.

[Sixers in 4]

Small sample size. He looks fine the shots just arent falling

[ArtMorte]

Crumbling under pressure.

[ConSarnit]

Damian's coming to the Bucks being tasked with doing pretty much what he did over in Portland, only this time he's not the first option on offense. That's not much of an adjustment.

Yes it is. Of course it is.

I get adjusting to a new role but that doesn’t really explain his shooting. He’s shooting 20% on open (no defender 4+ feet) 3pa. His role shouldn’t preclude him from hitting open 3’s.

(Obviously sample size is low but it’s tough to explain how he’s just missing open shots. I assume he’ll regress back to his mean)

[ITYSL]

Damian's coming to the Bucks being tasked with doing pretty much what he did over in Portland, only this time he's not the first option on offense. That's not much of an adjustment.

Yes it is. Of course it is.

No it's... really not. If you're able to do pretty much the same thing as before, only on less shot attempts, then no it isn't.

Yes it is, it really is. If your USG% and FGA/game is the lowest it has been in a decade, then it takes major adjustment to figure that out, even if your shots are open. There's a certain rhythm you develop over many years of playing that gets thrown off when this happens.

You sound like someone who has never played. Have you? If so, I'm willing to travel and take you on 1v1. I'd destroy you.

[LordCovington33]

As a Celtics fan I have a vested interest in the Bucks falling over.

But it’s called a shooting slump. Every player has them.

Exactly. It’s better to have it now than later.