Dame No Longer #1 Rookie!

[magnifier661]

Who did this Blaze person want us to draft instead?

Oh shit rivers?! Oops!!!

 

[blue9]

I was for Drummond. But I'm happy with Lillard - he has exceeded my expectations. Rivers - ha! That kid sucks.
I'd probably have gone with Lamb at #11 though. I hope he gets traded this summer - I'd like to see him get some PT and see if he might be a player in the NBA.

 

[THE HCP]

I will admit I wanted Lamb or Jones at #11.

 

[magnifier661]

I was for Drummond. But I'm happy with Lillard - he has exceeded my expectations. Rivers - ha! That kid sucks.
I'd probably have gone with Lamb at #11 though. I hope he gets traded this summer - I'd like to see him get some PT and see if he might be a player in the NBA.

Drummond looks good. Sucks he had that injury. Still swinging in his jock, but I would never trade our Lillard for him knowing what I know now.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Look it's no big deal to say that Lillard had kind of a "meh" month. He did look pretty tired, he didn't look particularly sharp on defense and the team has struggled as he's struggled with not a lot of other players to pick up the slack with Matthews hurt, Nicolas nursing a bad shooting hand/wrist and Aldridge being somewhat lethargic and inefficient on some of those nights.

Getting caught up in what is essentially a meaningless award like ROY doesn't mean that much to me, what I want to know is will Dame be able to continually improve over the long-term, becoming a better defender and play-maker and becoming a little more proficient at driving to the hoop and finishing or drawing fouls.

What people in the media think when it comes to ranking him next to his rookie peers is just so much fluff, even if it is from a guy that I think knows what he's talking about (Thorpe).

 

[blue9]

Drummond looks good. Sucks he had that injury. Still swinging in his jock, but I would never trade our Lillard for him knowing what I know now.

I probably wouldn't either. But mainly because we haven't had a good PG in about 18 billions years (other than 'Dre who was never accepted by our "star"). Drummond may end up being the better player, though. And even though the C position is becoming more deep, it's still not as deep as PG, so finding a C is harder than finding a PG. After next season it'd be interesting to get an outsider's take on Lillard vs Drummond.

 

[blue9]

Getting caught up in what is essentially a meaningless award like ROY doesn't mean that much to me, what I want to know is will Dame be able to continually improve over the long-term, becoming a better defender and play-maker and becoming a little more proficient at driving to the hoop and finishing or drawing fouls.

What people in the media think when it comes to ranking him next to his rookie peers is just so much fluff, even if it is from a guy that I think knows what he's talking about (Thorpe).

BOOM!

 

[Natebishop3]

Look it's no big deal to say that Lillard had kind of a "meh" month. He did look pretty tired, he didn't look particularly sharp on defense and the team has struggled as he's struggled with not a lot of other players to pick up the slack with Matthews hurt, Nicolas nursing a bad shooting hand/wrist and Aldridge being somewhat lethargic and inefficient on some of those nights.

Getting caught up in what is essentially a meaningless award like ROY doesn't mean that much to me, what I want to know is will Dame be able to continually improve over the long-term, becoming a better defender and play-maker and becoming a little more proficient at driving to the hoop and finishing or drawing fouls.

What people in the media think when it comes to ranking him next to his rookie peers is just so much fluff, even if it is from a guy that I think knows what he's talking about (Thorpe).

It matters because when it comes to a guard like Dame, a big part of his game will be getting to the line. Getting ROY will only help him get more calls from the refs.

 

[magnifier661]

I probably wouldn't either. But mainly because we haven't had a good PG in about 18 billions years (other than 'Dre who was never accepted by our "star"). Drummond may end up being the better player, though. And even though the C position is becoming more deep, it's still not as deep as PG, so finding a C is harder than finding a PG. After next season it'd be interesting to get an outsider's take on Lillard vs Drummond.

In Detroit, I just don't see Drummond being a elite level. They need to build a better team to work to his strengths. Hopefully detroits management can still build a winner.

 

[blue9]

In Detroit, I just don't see Drummond being a elite level. They need to build a better team to work to his strengths. Hopefully detroits management can still build a winner.

Well, yeah. That should go without saying.

 

[BlazerWookee]

BOOM!

So... now "BOOM!" is the new "THIS!"

Why didn't I get the memo?

 

[blue9]

So... now "BOOM!" is the new "THIS!"

Why didn't I get the memo?

Shazam!

 

[Natebishop3]

Shazam!

KABLOOIE!

 

[Nikolokolus]

It matters because when it comes to a guard like Dame, a big part of his game will be getting to the line. Getting ROY will only help him get more calls from the refs.

Tons of players that didn't win ROY learned how to draw fouls. The bottom line is that he has some work to do learning to finish in such a way that gets the attention of officials or otherwise makes the bucket. Does winning ROY make him more or less likely to get love from officials? I don't know? I don't see much cause and effect here, except that players who win ROY tend to be very, very good players in and of themselves.

I know that there's a certain amount of favoritism in the league, but most of that comes down to marketability. A bigger issue that I see whether or not Damian can make himself marketable and "must see" for fans around the league, if he does that then I think that will weigh more heavily on getting those calls and probably much more important than the ROY award.

 

[Natebishop3]

Tons of players that didn't win ROY learned how to draw fouls. The bottom line is that he has some work to do learning to finish in such a way that gets the attention of officials or otherwise makes the bucket. Does winning ROY make him more or less likely to get love from officials? I don't know? I don't see much cause and effect here, except that players who win ROY tend to be very, very good players in and of themselves.

I know that there's a certain amount of favoritism in the league, but most of that comes down to marketability. A bigger issue that I see whether or not Damian can make himself marketable and "must see" for fans around the league, if he does that then I think that will weigh more heavily on getting those calls and probably much more important than the ROY award.

Hey, I'll take any leg up we can get. And I don't think it's a matter of Dame learning how to draw contact. He gets contact all the time and still makes the bucket. The refs aren't calling it.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Hey, I'll take any leg up we can get. And I don't think it's a matter of Dame learning how to draw contact. He gets contact all the time and still makes the bucket. The refs aren't calling it.

But part of that is also just because he's a rookie. The only thing that's going to get the attention of the refs in my opinion is if Dame starts looking like an All-star player in subsequent years. The ROY won't add up to a fart in the wind if he can't take another step.

 

[Natebishop3]

But part of that is also just because he's a rookie. The only thing that's going to get the attention of the refs in my opinion is if Dame starts looking like an All-star player in subsequent years. The ROY won't add up to a fart in the wind if he can't take another step.

Oh I know, but getting ROY seems like a good stepping stone to an All-Star nod.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

Anthony Davis is Brandan Wright 2.0

He'll fade in a year or two

 

[magnifier661]

Anthony Davis is Brandan Wright 2.0

He'll fade in a year or two

You really think so? I think he's already done more than wright's first 3 years of pro ball.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

You really think so? I think he's already done more than wright's first 3 years of pro ball.

He's better than Wright, but I think he will have the same type of impact if he's ever on a good team. Not a cornerstone at all.

 

[RoyToy]

Anthony Davis is Brandan Wright 2.0

He'll fade in a year or two

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. You're Blaze01/Fez wrong.


Anyways, Lillard's FG% isn't completely terrible. Chauncey Billups shot around the 41% mark his whole career.

He's certainly dead tired at this point in the season so it's to be expected. I'm not really worried about it going forward.

 

[Boob-No-More]

I don't get what all the teeth gnashing is about Lillard vs. Davis. For the month of February, Lillard, the guy who is supposedly fading, had an EFF = 16.0 (compared to 16.9 for January). Davis, the guy who is supposedly coming on strong had an EFF = 15.0 (compared to 15.8 for January). Percentage wise, both players seem to be "fading" at the same rate.

The guy who actually is coming on strong is Beal. He had an EFF = 17.8 in February (compared to 12.6 in January), but that's too little too late to compete with Lillard for ROY. And, he's in the Eastern Conference, so not competing against Lillard or Davis for ROM.

BNM

 

[magnifier661]

Could you imagine if Lillard won rookie of the month for the entire season and didn't get the award because of Davis? He's already won all but march and April.

 

[magnifier661]

He's better than Wright, but I think he will have the same type of impact if he's ever on a good team. Not a cornerstone at all.

That is much better. Wright is a lame duck

 

[Natebishop3]

Could you imagine if Lillard won rookie of the month for the entire season and didn't get the award because of Davis? He's already won all but march and April.

That would literally be impossible. I could never see that happening.

 

[Hobbesarable]

Could you imagine if Lillard won rookie of the month for the entire season and didn't get the award because of Davis? He's already won all but march and April.

The ROY award would be a complete sham if that happened.

 

[BBert]

The homerism on this board is really getting ridiculous...Anyone that says anything contrarian to the group mind think around here is attacked, often personally....

Both Fez|Shooter are making good points, Lillard has had a good year but he is not without flaws...

Straw man. No one here thinks Lillard is without flaws.

 

[BBert]

I keep reading people saying no one wanted or expected we'd take Lillard. So I went back and looked. Funny, early on whenever Lillard's name came up (Nate and a couple of others) it was always in the context of him being available at 11. Then on 6/9/12 there was this:

Re: Predict the top 5

1. Anthony Davis
2. Thomas Robinson
3. Bradley Beal
4. Andre Drummond
5. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist

Blazers take Damian Lillard at 6!

And this:

How dare you post on HCP's board when you only have 25 posts! You have to have at least 1000 posts before you can post! Rookie!

Good post BTW.

Clearly I concurred.

I like Lillard and expect the Blazers to take him at No. 6 as BPA+Need.

Of course this was the day of his workout (June 15th) and by then I think most people thought that's who we'd take. No?

 

[handiman]

Hey, I'll take any leg up we can get. And I don't think it's a matter of Dame learning how to draw contact. He gets contact all the time and still makes the bucket. The refs aren't calling it.

Wasn't there a stat not too far back that Lillard is getting to the line slightly more than Derek Rose did as a rook?

 

[Natebishop3]

Wasn't there a stat not too far back that Lillard is getting to the line slightly more than Derek Rose did as a rook?

Dame is averaging 3.7 FTA per game.

Rose averaged 3.1 FTA per game during his rookie season.

So yes, you are right, he is averaging more FTA per game than Rose did. But he's averaging less FTA than Roy did during his rookie season, at 4.2 FTA per game. And his average consistently went up every year until it topped out at 6.8 FTA in 2009-2010, which was his last good year. I'm hoping for a similar rise in attempts for Dame.