Dame - the new scapegoat

[Natebishop3]

It really seemed like Lillard is the new punching bag from what I was reading last night. The guy put up 21 and 11 in 36 minutes. His final line was 21 points, 11 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals. That's a pretty damn good line. Yes, his shooting slumped. He was 8-21 and 1-7 from three, but he did so many other things on the floor last night. People are really focusing on the one bad thing.

He was actually shooting a really good percentage until the 4th quarter. He was 8-15 through three quarters. It was the 4th when things started to go off the rail, and mostly because I think he could see our lead slipping away and he started to do too much. I think that will slowly go away as he learns to trust his new teammates. Right now he just thinks he has to carry the team when we're having trouble scoring.

I also think people need to stop acting like his shot is gone forever. He is in a slump. It's been going on for a while. His shot will come back. Dame is not the kind of person to just accept that this is the way things are now. I get that he signed the big contract. I get that he's the leader. I get that he's our star, but he played pretty damn well last night. Stop acting like he stunk up the joint.

 

[Strenuus]

It really seemed like Lillard is the new punching bag from what I was reading last night. The guy put up 21 and 11 in 36 minutes. His final line was 21 points, 11 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals. That's a pretty damn good line. Yes, his shooting slumped. He was 8-21 and 1-7 from three, but he did so many other things on the floor last night. People are really focusing on the one bad thing.

He was actually shooting a really good percentage until the 4th quarter. He was 8-15 through three quarters. It was the 4th when things started to go off the rail, and mostly because I think he could see our lead slipping away and he started to do too much. I think that will slowly go away as he learns to trust his new teammates. Right now he just thinks he has to carry the team when we're having trouble scoring.

I also think people need to stop acting like his shot is gone forever. He is in a slump. It's been going on for a while. His shot will come back. Dame is not the kind of person to just accept that this is the way things are now. I get that he signed the big contract. I get that he's the leader. I get that he's our star, but he played pretty damn well last night. Stop acting like he stunk up the joint.

Well said.

Kobe shot 8-24, for reference. So it could be worse.

Never worried about Dame. But he will be the scapegoat, and CJ will be loved and hated about as much as anyone this year.

 

[THE HCP]

Did I see last night he got his 600th 3 of his career. Breaking Klay's record for the fastest in the HISTORY of the NBA....... yet some still feel they have a place to complain about him. AMAZING! The guy is a superstar!

 

[Draco]

I think the criticisms have been fair; he tried to do a bit too much by himself on offense in the 4th and has been off on his three point shot for 8 months.

Its not like anyone is saying he's bad or we'd be better if we traded him.

I bet he figures these things out as the season goes on.

Look at LeBron; he's the best player in the game and maybe the best of all time but he gets criticized endlessly for years. Part of being great is being held to a higher standard and having every decision second guessed by the masses.

Dame is enough of a boss to not care what a bunch of dweebs on a message board say about him. He'll get the team playing well and enjoying being around each other. We can critique him and harp on him because he can take it.

 

[Natebishop3]

The weird thing is that his shot looks a little different. I'm not sure if it's purely a confidence thing, or if he's not following through. I haven't watched any replays to take a look at it, but something seems different.

 

[Strenuus]

Did I see last night he got his 600th 3 of his career. Breaking Klay's record for the fastest in the HISTORY of the NBA....... yet some still feel they have a place to complain about him. AMAZING! The guy is a superstar!

Its the what-have-you-done-for-me-in-the-last-game phenomonon.

 

[Reep]

I thought Dame played a very good game, except for a couple of forced, long threes.

His big plus was how he helped control the pace when he was on the floor. His presence seemed to make everything else go more smoothly, and he should get credit for that.

 

[Natebishop3]

I think the criticisms have been fair; he tried to do a bit too much by himself on offense in the 4th and has been off on his three point shot for 8 months.

Its not like anyone is saying he's bad or we'd be better if we traded him.

Look at LeBron; he's the best player in the game and maybe the best of all time but he gets criticized endlessly for years. Part of being great is being held to a higher standard and having every decision second guessed by the masses.

It's not like it was a continuous 8 months of basketball. That makes it sound worse than it is. There were 4 months away from basketball, so it's not like he's had 8 months to work his way through this. I'm sure he spent hours and hours in the gym working on his shot, but he has to be on the court to really work out of this slump.

 

[Strenuus]

The weird thing is that his shot looks a little different. I'm not sure if it's purely a confidence thing, or if he's not following through. I haven't watched any replays to take a look at it, but something seems different.

Yeah. He's extending his leg out instead of going straight up. When I watched the replay, I saw that at least 3 times. I think that goes away soon, he'll have to see that on tape at some point.

Again, not even remotely worried about Dame. He'll find it.

 

[Natebishop3]

Yeah. He's extending his leg out instead of going straight up. When I watched the replay, I saw that at least 3 times. I think that goes away soon, he'll have to see that on tape at some point.

Again, not even remotely worried about Dame. He'll find it.

I think he'll find it too. I just think people got so used to his shot going in, and now that he's been pretty consistently bad for a few months, they're just accepting that as the new normal. I don't agree with it. If Jason Kidd can become a good three point shooter, I think Dame can regain his shot.

 

[Boise Blazer]

Did I see last night he got his 600th 3 of his career. Breaking Klay's record for the fastest in the HISTORY of the NBA....... yet some still feel they have a place to complain about him. AMAZING! The guy is a superstar!

Ummm that's not what you just recently said:

To win a championship in the NBA you need a superstar and 2 stars.

Right now we have a star.

I'll take it a step further and say we have ONE quality NBA starter on our roster.

http://www.sportstwo.com/posts/3742402/

Just sayin' (shrug)

 

[TBpup]

I think the criticisms have been fair; he tried to do a bit too much by himself on offense in the 4th and has been off on his three point shot for 8 months.

Its not like anyone is saying he's bad or we'd be better if we traded him.

I bet he figures these things out as the season goes on.

Look at LeBron; he's the best player in the game and maybe the best of all time but he gets criticized endlessly for years. Part of being great is being held to a higher standard and having every decision second guessed by the masses.

Very well said. He has obviously not shot the ball well for some time now and that is not being overly critical, just a realistic observation.

The weird thing is that his shot looks a little different. I'm not sure if it's purely a confidence thing, or if he's not following through. I haven't watched any replays to take a look at it, but something seems different.

His shot is a little flat and instead of stepping into it, he is doing a lot of step-back attempts. I was right behind the Blazer bench last night so got a very good view of arc, rotation, mechanics etc and it's like he is really snap/pushing a line-drive instead of getting the required arc to increase shooting percentage.

 

[BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94]

Think how many more assists he'd have if Legend made his open threes, Dames 3s are just not going in and it makes no sense, his shots look good and are riming out.

 

[Strenuus]

I think he'll find it too. I just think people got so used to his shot going in, and now that he's been pretty consistently bad for a few months, they're just accepting that as the new normal. I don't agree with it. If Jason Kidd can become a good three point shooter, I think Dame can regain his shot.

You dont make 600 threes the fastest in NBA history as a fluke. If it were the case, it'd happen a lot more. Dame is fine. I said it after his rookie year, he's the only one I never worry about. Do I cringe every now and then at shot selection like last night? Yes. But as a whole, I have never doubted him. He may not like to hear that, though.

 

[Natebishop3]

Very well said. He has obviously not shot the ball well for some time now and that is not being overly critical, just a realistic observation.



His shot is a little flat and instead of stepping into it, he is doing a lot of step-back attempts. I was right behind the Blazer bench last night so got a very good view of arc, rotation, mechanics etc and it's like he is really snap/pushing a line-drive instead of getting the required arc to increase shooting percentage.

It's a valid criticism..... but people are harping on it. Some posters more so than others, but good god... just constantly bringing it up. This has been going on for a while.

 

[THE HCP]

Ummm that's not what you just recently said:





http://www.sportstwo.com/posts/3742402/

Just sayin' (shrug)

What does this mean? We DO only have 1 quality NBA starter!

 

[Strenuus]

What does this mean? We DO only have 1 quality NBA starter!

I think what he's saying is Superstar is above on the hierarchieal chain than the Quality NBA Starter.

 

[Tunchi]

Dame has improved tremendously since his rookie year, from his finishing abilities, defense, drawing more fouls, theres a lot of improvements he has made. But unfortunately his 3 point shot has gone to shits all the way to the playoffs. Its a pretty large sample size we have, including the preseason so of course its a cause of discussion. What he really needs to do is just stop shooting 5 feet behind the 3 point arc and just settle to about two 3's a game to when hes basically wide open or they need a crucial 3. That hero ball, steph curry style is not working for him period. He needs to quit that crap and just stick to what hes improving on.

I wouldn't be surprised honestly if cj led this team in scoring

 

[THE HCP]

I think what he's saying is Superstar is above on the hierarchieal chain than the Quality NBA Starter.

Whatever...... we have one player who could start for other teams was my point.

 

[blue32]

I was only bringing up that I am concerned about his shooting slump, and also how I thought he tried to do to much in the fourth citing three/four plays that were just not good. I still believe he is the best player on our team and he personally is my favorite player. Never a punching bag. It was just constructive criticism/discussion for this board.

I am overly hyped for him to regain his shooting prowess.

 

[Strenuus]

Dame has improved tremendously since his rookie year, from his finishing abilities, defense, drawing more fouls, theres a lot of improvements he has made. But unfortunately his 3 point shot has gone to shits all the way to the playoffs. Its a pretty large sample size we have, including the preseason so of course its a cause of discussion. What he really needs to do is just stop shooting 5 feet behind the 3 point arc and just settle to about two 3's a game to when hes basically wide open or they need a crucial 3. That hero ball, steph curry style is not working for him period. He needs to quit that crap and just stick to what hes improving on.

I wouldn't be surprised honestly if cj led this team in scoring

2 1/2 years of amazing 3 point shooting. 4 months of game time where he has struggled.

Which one is the bigger sample size here?

 

[Natebishop3]

Dame has improved tremendously since his rookie year, from his finishing abilities, defense, drawing more fouls, theres a lot of improvements he has made. But unfortunately his 3 point shot has gone to shits all the way to the playoffs. Its a pretty large sample size we have, including the preseason so of course its a cause of discussion. What he really needs to do is just stop shooting 5 feet behind the 3 point arc and just settle to about two 3's a game to when hes basically wide open or they need a crucial 3. That hero ball, steph curry style is not working for him period. He needs to quit that crap and just stick to what hes improving on.

I wouldn't be surprised honestly if cj led this team in scoring

Dame is who he is. I don't want him to change his style. We loved that style two years ago. I think he was hurt last year, it damaged his confidence, and he's still working his way through it. We have 2.5 years of him being a really really good shooter, and only .5 years of him being a bad shooter, so I think your "pretty large sample size" isn't large enough.

 

[Draco]

It's not like it was a continuous 8 months of basketball. That makes it sound worse than it is. There were 4 months away from basketball, so it's not like he's had 8 months to work his way through this. I'm sure he spent hours and hours in the gym working on his shot, but he has to be on the court to really work out of this slump.

Yeah but its still a huge volume of shots over a long time period. Its been longer than Aaron Afflalo and Tim Frazier were and have been Blazers; we formed opinions of them. They hardly play any of his minutes. This isn't some 5 game sample. Plus all the stories of how his finger could physically rotate in disgusting ways and Blazer injury history has many of us a bit scared his funk is permanent.

 

[Natebishop3]

Yeah but its still a huge volume of shots over a long time period. Its been longer than Aaron Afflalo and Tim Frazier were and have been Blazers; we formed opinions of them. They hardly play any of his minutes. This isn't some 5 game sample. Plus all the stories of how his finger could physically rotate in disgusting ways and Blazer injury history has many of us a bit scared his funk is permanent.

Was there ever any updates on his finger(s)? Are they still like that?

 

[Boise Blazer]

Whatever...... we have one player who could start for other teams was my point.

Im just messing with you poking fun at your choice of words. I know that you think highly of Dame as do I.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

Did I see last night he got his 600th 3 of his career. Breaking Klay's record for the fastest in the HISTORY of the NBA....... yet some still feel they have a place to complain about him. AMAZING! The guy is a superstar!

Holy crap I didn't see that. That's awesome!

 

[Draco]

Was there ever any updates on his finger(s)? Are they still like that?

Heard that he confirmed at media day how screwed up they were last season and could rotate.

 

[Natebishop3]

Heard that he confirmed at media day how screwed up they were last season and could rotate.

That's disgusting.... I had read something on Reddit about a guy who met him after a game and saw his fingers were completely screwed up. I'm just wondering if they've healed or if he got some kind of treatment on them.

 

[BBert]

It really seemed like Lillard is the new punching bag from what I was reading last night. The guy put up 21 and 11 in 36 minutes. His final line was 21 points, 11 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals. That's a pretty damn good line. Yes, his shooting slumped. He was 8-21 and 1-7 from three, but he did so many other things on the floor last night. People are really focusing on the one bad thing.

He was actually shooting a really good percentage until the 4th quarter. He was 8-15 through three quarters. It was the 4th when things started to go off the rail, and mostly because I think he could see our lead slipping away and he started to do too much. I think that will slowly go away as he learns to trust his new teammates. Right now he just thinks he has to carry the team when we're having trouble scoring.

I also think people need to stop acting like his shot is gone forever. He is in a slump. It's been going on for a while. His shot will come back. Dame is not the kind of person to just accept that this is the way things are now. I get that he signed the big contract. I get that he's the leader. I get that he's our star, but he played pretty damn well last night. Stop acting like he stunk up the joint.

Excellent post, my man.

 

[BlayZa]

i didnt see anything really concerning from dame at all last night to warrant any bashing :/

everyone came to play last night, the only question could be is if he is in form enough to carry the team when a few people are 'off', guess we'll see.

and yeah a couple of WTF 3's outta nowhere early in the shotclock and miles away, but i think they were 'heartbreaker' 3's in that if they went in off the back of a little run would rekt the other teams morale, which im actually ok with.

can't wait to see how things go with the full squad back n fit, we seem to have a lot of guys that can and want to play, gonna be keeping a few balls in the air to keep people happy, but its all about sacrifice - would hate to be Stotts tho......