I keep hearing people on the radio claim that Dame is "coasting", that he's "pacing himself", and that he's trying to "preserve himself" for later in the season by playing a less demanding brand of basketball. Anybody buying that? That basically sounds like people giving excuses for what is perceived as subpar play.
No. I don't believe that he's coasting. That's not in his nature. That's not who Damian Lillard is.
Personally, I believe it's a mixture of a few factors. Firstly, I think his confidence is off a little bit. He had that horrible game against Sacramento and he hasn't been the same since then. He supposedly worked on that floater during the summer, but it looks like he's gone away from it for lack of confidence.
The first five games
Vs Phoenix - 32 points, 10-20 shooting, 6-12 from deep, 6-8 from the line
Vs Denver - 18 points, 6-13 shooting, 3-4 from deep, 3-4 from the line
Vs Spurs - 25 points, 7-16 shooting, 3-8 from deep, 8-8 from the line
Vs Houston - 22 points, 7-17 shooting, 4-9 from deep, 4-7 from the line
Vs Sac - 22 points, 5-13 shooting, 4-9 from deep, 8-8 from the line
Since then
Vs Sac - 4 points, 1-15 shooting, 0-5 from deep, 2-4 from the line
Vs Detroit - 25 points, 7-16 shooting, 5-8 from deep, 6-6 from the line
Vs Phoenix - 11 points, 4-13 shooting, 0-2 from deep, 3-4 from the line
Vs Boston - 17 points, 6-15 shooting, 2-6 from deep, 3-3 from the line
Vs Toronto - 25 points, 10-22 shooting, 3-10 from deep, 2-2 from the line
Vs Brooklyn - 19 points, 6-13 shooting, 2-7 from deep, 5-5 from the line
Vs Milwaukee - 19 points, 7-18 shooting, 2-7 from deep, 3-3 from the line
Vs Chicago - 20 points, 6-14 shooting, 3-5 from deep, 5-5 from the line
Vs GS - 20 points, 6-20 shooting, 2-7 from deep, 6-6 from the line
Vs NY - 23 points, 9-20 shooting, 2-7 from deep, 3-3 from the line
Secondly, I think the team is playing a different brand of basketball. With Wes playing as well as he has, and Mo coming off the bench, I think Dame is still trying to find a rhythm in this offense. It doesn't help that Aldridge is struggling from the field at the same time as Lillard. It makes things much more complicated than if it was just one or the other.
Lastly, I think the refs aren't giving him the benefit of the doubt. I thought he'd get more calls this season, but I haven't seen much difference in how the refs treat him. He still draws contact when he goes to the hole, but the refs hardly ever give him the whistle. Teams have become very physical in how they defend him. I've noticed on multiple occasions that defenders body him, they try to knock him off his rhythm when he's bringing the ball up the floor, and when he tries to drive. Until the refs start calling this contact, it will make things much more difficult for Lillard. If you look at his first five games, he had three games with 8 FTA. He hasn't had a single 8 FTA since then. Why? He still goes to the hole. He still draws contact.
He's also having some stinkers from deep. During our run he's had four 2-7 games from deep. I think he's relying too much on his three point shot because he can get it whenever he wants, and it's a security blanket of sorts for him. I think he's frustrated with his lack of calls from the refs, and I think he's lost his confidence in his mid-range game a bit. He'll get it back. I have complete faith in Lillard's work ethic, but I also think he's hurting from not having a true point guard on the team right now. Williams is a scoring guard. Lillard played some of his best ball last year when we had Maynor running the point next to him.
