Lillard's Playoff Averages

[Chris Craig]

There has been all this talk of Lillard's ppg average in the playoffs being hit hard since the Pelican series when the double/triple Dame defense became mainstream.

I wanted to look at his ppg averages in the playoffs before that series and since it.

Before that series Dame averaged 24.67 points a game in the playoffs. From the Pelicans series on he has averaged 23.1 ppg. If we don't include the Pelicans series (which was his worst all time ppg in a playoff series - 18.5 ppg) he has averaged 25.4 ppg since then.

2014 Playoffs:

HOU - 6 Games (25 PPG)

SAS - 5 Games (19.8 PPG)

Total Average - 23 PPG


2015 Playoffs:

MEM - 5 Games (21.6 PPG)

Total Average - 21.6 PPG


2016 Playoffs:

LAC - 6 Games (22 PPG)

GSW - 5 Games (31.8 PPG)

Total Average - 26.4 PPG



2017 Playoffs:

GSW - 4 GAMES - (27.7 PPG)

Total Average - 27.7 PPG


2018 Playoffs:

NOP - 4 games (18.5 PPG)

Total Average - 18.5 PPG

2019 Playoffs:

OKC - 5 Games (33ppg)

DEN - 7 Games (25 PPG)

GSW - 4 Games (22 PPG)

Total Average - 26.8 PPG

2020 Playoffs:

LAL - 4 Games (5) - 24 PPG

Total Average - 24 PPG

 

[wizenheimer]

I think you have to look at efficiency too. Not only shooting and scoring efficiency, but assist/turnover efficiency

then gauge everything against the way teams defend Dame in the playoffs

 

[handiman]

^ What he said. It's always been about efficiency, not PPG. Dame has had to put up more shots than usual [in the playoffs] to get his points.

 

[B-Roy]

Career PER 22.4 regular season.
Career PER 18.6 playoffs.

I only use PER here as an accumulation of boxscore stats.

 

[ehizzy3]

Besides a few big moments, cj has been better in the playoffs

 

[Natebishop3]

When teams play Dame 1 on 1 he dominates (see series against OKC)

When teams trap and focus their entire defense around taking the ball out of his hands, he struggles and so does our team. Hopefully having Norm can help with that now.

 

[B-Roy]

Besides a few big moments, cj has been better in the playoffs

That's not what the stats say.

 

[Chris Craig]

2019 Playoffs

 

[AldoTrapani]

Percentages suck imo. On top of my head Lillard has had only 2 damn good series. That was against Houston in 2014 and against OKC 2019.. The rest have been completely forgettable. He’s even had some reallllly bad ones. Memphis 2015, New Orleans 2018

 

[wizenheimer]

Besides a few big moments, cj has been better in the playoffs

not true...just more false CJ mythology

in the playoffs:

PER: CJ 15.8....Dame 18.6
TS%: CJ .532....Dame .548
FT Rate: CJ .191....Dame .337
assist Rate: CJ 13.2%....Dame 25.0%
turnover rate: CJ 9.1%....Dame 12.5%
ast rate/trn rate: CJ 1.45....Dame 2.0
winshare/48: CJ 0.56....Dame 0.94
BPM: CJ 0.9....Dame 3.5

the only thing CJ has been better at is turnovers, but that's going to be an easy accomplishment for a ball-handler who has an assist rate below 15%

Dame has been better at everything while being doubled, tripled, and trapped in almost all of his playoffs games by the best perimeter defenders on the other team. CJ has been single covered by the weaker defenders. CJ has drafted off of the playoff attention Dame gets and still posts worse numbers

Dame's numbers have dropped by a bigger rate than CJ's in the playoffs, but again, he's facing twice the resistance CJ faces

 

[Orion Bailey]

This will be Lillards breakout post season. With norm and cj, traps wont work like the past.

I say bring your best game. Dame is gonna top it now with his help.

 

[BBert]

A rested Dame is a dangerous animal.

Bring it.

 

[Orion Bailey]

Not counting CJ, we have Powell capable of creating scoring opportunities for himself. Even Ant is getting more reliable. And dare I say it, Melo can pour it on in bunches when he's on. I like an aggressive Dame, but I hope he doesn't press to score when it's not there for him. He's become a fine facilitator and our offense is just as dangerous when he's finding open teammates.

i agree with everything but the last sentance. Id say its more dangerous. Not just as.
I think we are a better more potent team when Dame gets others involved.

 

[Strenuus]

This will be Lillards breakout post season. With norm and cj, traps wont work like the past.

I say bring your best game. Dame is gonna top it now with his help.

You mean norm. Cj has been here the whole time and they trapped him. So, really, norm is the X factor in this whole thing.

 

[Orion Bailey]

You mean norm. Cj has been here the whole time and they trapped him. So, really, norm is the X factor in this whole thing.

mmm no i mean cj too. I get what your saying and your not wrong. But i think with norm it will actually also free up cj and Dame.

so yes, in the past cj hasn't made that difference. But if it were just dame and powell
im not sold that would make a difference either. But with cj AND Powell im thinking its much more tangible.

 

[TBpup]

Please don't compare Dame and CJ in the Playoffs....just embarrassing. They are not close in terms of production or in terms of defensive attention.

@Chris Craig ...typically when looking at averages, if you take out the worst (NOP), you also take out the best (OKC) and average the rest. Still, Dame is putting up very good numbers when being the total focus of the opponents defense.

 

[tlongII]

I don’t think we’ll have any trouble scoring. We’ve got a lot of guys who can score. I’m very excited to see how we look.

 

[bobf]

It stands to reason that Dame’s efficiency should go down in the playoffs. It’s not as if that’s something a player can overcome. Being guarded by two is simply harder than being guarded by one. Other players’ efficiency should (in theory) go up.

 

[mook]

I hate to jinx things, but I'm excited to see Dame play with a fully healthy Nurkic. He's only been in 9 playoff games, and was only 23 in the Pelicans sweep. I think it's going to be fun watching him make Jokic work on both ends of the court, setting high screens 30 feet from the hoop. Dame is going to have a lot of space to work with.

 

[Natebishop3]

I hate to jinx things, but I'm excited to see Dame play with a fully healthy Nurkic. He's only been in 9 playoff games, and was only 23 in the Pelicans sweep. I think it's going to be fun watching him make Jokic work on both ends of the court, setting high screens 30 feet from the hoop. Dame is going to have a lot of space to work with.

If we are ever going to see this team defeat the trap, this is the time it should happen. A healthy Nurk, a healthy CJ, Norm, RoCo, etc. I also think Denver is lacking good perimeter defenders.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

I also think Denver is lacking good perimeter defenders.

This is the big thing for me. I don't see how anyone in Denver's backcourt is going to slow Dame down, even if they throw multiple people/looks at him. This series really should be a scoring-fest; over-under for each game should be about 250.

 

[Serbian]

Besides a few big moments, cj has been better in the playoffs

When has CJ ever been blitzed and doubled? Opposing teams throw their 2 best defenders at Dame not CJ. Imagine if Lillard had weaker defenders on him while going 1v1. Do you even watch basketball?

 

[Natebishop3]

This is the big thing for me. I don't see how anyone in Denver's backcourt is going to slow Dame down, even if they throw multiple people/looks at him. This series really should be a scoring-fest; over-under for each game should be about 250.

Think about who they had a couple years ago to defend him. Torrey Craig, Gary Harris, and a slightly younger and more efficient Millsap. They still have Barton and now they have Gordon, but I fear them much less now than I did a couple years ago.

 

[ehizzy3]

When has CJ ever been blitzed and doubled? Opposing teams throw their 2 best defenders at Dame not CJ. Imagine if Lillard had weaker defenders on him while going 1v1. Do you even watch basketball?

nope never watched basketball before, you got me Serbian

 

[Hoopguru]

We now have a legit third scorer that can get to the ft line and push the ball. And Nurk is another weapon if he takes the ball Jokic.

 

[Natebishop3]

nope never watched basketball before, you got me Serbian

I mean... why would you WANT to?

 

[handiman]

When has CJ ever been blitzed and doubled? Opposing teams throw their 2 best defenders at Dame not CJ. Imagine if Lillard had weaker defenders on him while going 1v1. Do you even watch basketball?

Cause and effect. CJ's dribbling skills make him difficult to trap. That's why his efficiency drops less than Dame's in the playoffs.

 

[wizenheimer]

Cause and effect. CJ's dribbling skills make him difficult to trap. That's why his efficiency drops less than Dame's in the playoffs.

let's see, Blazers played the Warriors and Dame was defended by Klay & Iggy while being trapped and harassed by a DPOY & Durant; meanwhile CJ was single-covered by Curry or Ian Clark. So yeah, CJ's efficiency didn't drop as much as Dame's because he can dribble between his legs

 

[handiman]

let's see, Blazers played the Warriors and Dame was defended by Klay & Iggy & while being trapped and harassed by a DPOY & Durant; meanwhile CJ was single-covered by Curry or Ian Clark. So yeah, CJ's efficiency didn't drop as much as Dame's because he can dribble between his legs

I can see how it's easier for your to go on believing Dame is the only one who draws defensive attention.

 

[wizenheimer]

I can see how it's easier for your to go on believing Dame is the only one who draws defensive attention.

everybody draws some defensive attention. And nowhere did I say CJ gets none. That's a laughable deflection

When Portland played Milwaukee did Jrue Holiday guard Dame or CJ? When it was Utah, did Royce O'Neal guard Dame or CJ? Memphis it was Brooks on Dame; Phoenix it was Bridges; Lakers it was KCP. Dame always draws the best perimeter defenders on the other team; CJ doesn't. And in the playoffs those best perimeter defenders are augmented by constant doubles and traps. The opposing team flexes their defense heavily towards Dame. The one time that didn't happen is when Dame tore OKC apart...literally

so yeah, I'll point that out when somebody says something like 'CJ's efficiency doesn't drop as much because he's a better dribbler' which completely ignores the major difference in defensive resistance each player faces