What is happening to Dame?

[BrunoSOC]

He is okay? He's playing like sh*t in the playoffs! I know that we dont have any chance to defeat the clippers. Actually, im think in next season. What you guys think for next season? We can find a good free agent, no draft picks... What you guys expected? I hope we can win at least 2 games against the clippers.

 

[Orion Bailey]

He is okay? He's playing like sh*t in the playoffs! I know that we dont haver a chance to defeat the clippers. Actually, im think in next season. What you guys think for next season? We can find a good free agent, no draft picks... What you guys expected? I hope we can win at least 2 games against the clippers

Welcome. I hope this doesnt sound rude. Not trying to, but there are several threads discussing this topic currently. Some good reads and info.

 

[KeepOnRollin]

He is not playing like shit cus he is in the playoffs. He is playing like shit cus he is matched up against Chris Paul.

He has never played Chris Paul consistently well. Not even in the regular season. The guy is Dame's kryptonite.

 

[BrunoSOC]

I know. But now we kind need him.

 

[BrunoSOC]

Welcome. I hope this doesnt sound rude. Not trying to, but there are several threads discussing this topic currently. Some good reads and info.

Thats ok. My bad

 

[Tunchi]

One thing you gotta know about Lillard hes been doing this since last season when he was a no show all second half of the year. This has become a worrisome pattern recently in his career. Great for a stretch, then equally terrible for a stretch, then good again then bad again.. It’s just sad to see my friend I agree with you

 

[Natebishop3]

1. Chris Paul is an amazing defender and the refs let him get away with a lot of grabbing, slapping, and holding on defense.

2. The Clippers are trapping Dame every time he has the ball, and forcing him to either take a bad shot or pass.

3. His teammates aren't hitting shots, so Dame clearly feels like he needs to step up and carry the load, but he's not hitting shots either.

4. He's trying to get to the hole, which is what good players do when their shot isn't falling, but the Clips are clogging the middle and he's getting blocked.... a lot. 4 blocked attempts in the last game.

5. He's trying to do too much. This is his first series as The Man and he's trying to be the leader, but it's not working out so far.

 

[Natebishop3]

One thing you gotta know about Lillard hes been doing this since last season when he was a no show all second half of the year. This has become a worrisome pattern recently in his career. Great for a stretch, then equally terrible for a stretch, then good again then bad again.. It’s just sad to see my friend I agree with you

Lillard was hurt for the second half of last season.

He averaged 25 ppg this season. That was his AVERAGE. He wasn't just "good for a stretch," he was amazing for a stretch. Your criticisms of Lillard are tired and ridiculous.

 

[Orion Bailey]

One thing you gotta know about Lillard hes been doing this since last season when he was a no show all second half of the year. This has become a worrisome pattern recently in his career. Great for a stretch, then equally terrible for a stretch, then good again then bad again.. It’s just sad to see my friend I agree with you

This is way off base. Plus, how much of that has to do with who he is surrounded with and the good vs bad games they have?

 

[oldmangrouch]

Nothing.

He is a very good player - but he is not at the Jordan/LeBron level. He can't win the series without some help from his team-mates.

 

[Reep]

I truly believe part of it is that he is tired. Sure CP3 is a problem, but Dame has been looking tired since about 10 games to go in the regular season. Next year it might be time to pace better.

 

[Strenuus]

1. Chris Paul is an amazing defender and the refs let him get away with a lot of grabbing, slapping, and holding on defense.

2. The Clippers are trapping Dame every time he has the ball, and forcing him to either take a bad shot or pass.

3. His teammates aren't hitting shots, so Dame clearly feels like he needs to step up and carry the load, but he's not hitting shots either.

4. He's trying to get to the hole, which is what good players do when their shot isn't falling, but the Clips are clogging the middle and he's getting blocked.... a lot. 4 blocked attempts in the last game.

5. He's trying to do too much. This is his first series as The Man and he's trying to be the leader, but it's not working out so far.

See, I think I see our disagreement, Nate... You are saying he's doing too much, but then his teammates aren't hitting shots that he's passing to. How is that Dame's fault? He's making the right decision with the pass... it's the help around him that's helping him falter.

And, think of it this way... as a human, if someone is not doing the job correctly (I.E. making the shot), isn't it within our human nature to say "We'll do it ourselves".

As they say: "If you want the job done right, do it yourself". May not be totally accurate, and quite selfish in sports, but if it isn't working... that mindset, as a human, can take over.

Or, as the old windbag pipesmoker Bill O'Rielly said (The only good thing he's ever said, mind you): "We'll do it live! Fuck it!"

 

[Strenuus]

Nothing.

He is a very good player - but he is not at the Jordan/LeBron level. He can't win the series without some help from his team-mates.

And about 15000 other NBA players will never be those two. So why compare them?

(If you're not, sorry... but it's still worth saying)

 

[julius]

Really? No ones going to say it?

Fine, I will.


He drinks like a fish

 

[Natebishop3]

See, I think I see our disagreement, Nate... You are saying he's doing too much, but then his teammates aren't hitting shots that he's passing to. How is that Dame's fault? He's making the right decision with the pass... it's the help around him that's helping him falter.

And, think of it this way... as a human, if someone is not doing the job correctly (I.E. making the shot), isn't it within our human nature to say "We'll do it ourselves".

As they say: "If you want the job done right, do it yourself". May not be totally accurate, and quite selfish in sports, but if it isn't working... that mindset, as a human, can take over.

Or, as the old windbag pipesmoker Bill O'Rielly said (The only good thing he's ever said, mind you): "We'll do it live! Fuck it!"

Here's the problem though - as badly as our guys are shooting, I'll take a wide open Harkless, Aminu, Crabbe, CJ, or Hendo over a shot where Dame is trying to rise up over two guys for three. He has to keep passing. If his teammates miss, they miss, but Dame isn't shooting well either. I could understand carrying the load if he was hitting his shots, but he's not. Again, I get it, I understand why he's doing it, but as the point guard and as the leader (and as the guy with the playoff experience), he has to keep passing. It's the only way we're going to win.

If Dame is in the zone, that's another story. Shoot all he wants. I'm not thrilled with all the blocked attempts, but at least he's trying to be aggressive. I'm fine with that. He just needs to keep trying to draw the defense and pass the ball. It's our only hope, Obi Wan Kenobi.

 

[Strenuus]

Here's the problem though - as badly as our guys are shooting, I'll take a wide open Harkless, Aminu, Crabbe, CJ, or Hendo over a shot where Dame is trying to rise up over two guys for three. He has to keep passing. If his teammates miss, they miss, but Dame isn't shooting well either. I could understand carrying the load if he was hitting his shots, but he's not. Again, I get it, I understand why he's doing it, but as the point guard and as the leader (and as the guy with the playoff experience), he has to keep passing. It's the only way we're going to win.

If Dame is in the zone, that's another story. Shoot all he wants. I'm not thrilled with all the blocked attempts, but at least he's trying to be aggressive. I'm fine with that. He just needs to keep trying to draw the defense and pass the ball. It's our only hope, Obi Wan Kenobi.

So, my question is, if he keeps passing, and only takes, say, 7 shots, how do we know if he's ever in the zone?

Besides, if he passes and the teammates aren't hitting, then the defense isn't going to change and we'd still lose... so what benefit would that be? We'd just lose by even more.

 

[Natebishop3]

So, my question is, if he keeps passing, and only takes, say, 7 shots, how do we know if he's ever in the zone?

Besides, if he passes and the teammates aren't hitting, then the defense isn't going to change and we'd still lose... so what benefit would that be? We'd just lose by even more.

I'm not saying 7 shots. Take the shot if he's open, or if it's a good shot, but even some of the drives just seemed bad. Charging into 3 guys and getting horribly blocked instead of passing out.

 

[Strenuus]

I'm not saying 7 shots. Take the shot if he's open, or if it's a good shot, but even some of the drives just seemed bad. Charging into 3 guys and getting horribly blocked instead of passing out.

Still stands though... if the others aren't hitting, why is the defense going to change? That's my issue.

For the record, everyone seemed to get blocked last night.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

Last night he missed several uncontested or easy shots that he would normally make though. I guess that could still be an effect of Paul and also being conscious of Jordan blocking shots around the hoop, but he looked terrible last night.

 

[Strenuus]

Last night he missed several uncontested or easy shots that he would normally make though. I guess that could still be an effect of Paul and also being conscious of Jordan blocking shots around the hoop, but he looked terrible last night.

No doubt he looked off last night.

My qualm is the "he needs to pass out to change the defense"... but, if they aren't hitting shots (which is highly evident) then the defense has no reason to change.

 

[Natebishop3]

Still stands though... if the others aren't hitting, why is the defense going to change? That's my issue.

For the record, everyone seemed to get blocked last night.

If the other guys aren't hitting, we're screwed. It's that simply man. If we continue to shoot this poorly in the series, we're done. So either Dame keeps passing and we eventually start hitting shots, or we get swept. There's nothing Dame can do about that. The Clips are FORCING the rest of the team to make them pay for doubling Dame. If we can't make them pay, they won't stop. It will only get worse.

 

[Strenuus]

If the other guys aren't hitting, we're screwed. It's that simply man. If we continue to shoot this poorly in the series, we're done. So either Dame keeps passing and we eventually start hitting shots, or we get swept. There's nothing Dame can do about that. The Clips are FORCING the rest of the team to make them pay for doubling Dame. If we can't make them pay, they won't stop. It will only get worse.

Okay, I think I see what you're saying. It is a team thing and not necessarily a dame thing. That I can completelty agree with.

 

[Tunchi]

Lillard was hurt for the second half of last season.

He averaged 25 ppg this season. That was his AVERAGE. He wasn't just "good for a stretch," he was amazing for a stretch. Your criticisms of Lillard are tired and ridiculous.

So what happened for about a month and half after that great stretch he had around FEB?

He's been bad since like Early March

 

[Natebishop3]

Okay, I think I see what you're saying. It is a team thing and not necessarily a dame thing. That I can completelty agree with.

It's partially a Dame thing, because at the end of the day he needs to realize that he can't do it all. I've said since the beginning of the season that I think this will be a learning experience for him because he's figuring out when he needs to put the team on his shoulders, and when he needs to put trust in his teammates. Right now, it's hurting the team when he tries to go HAM. He has to understand that he either finds a way to get his teammates involved in this series, or we lose. It's that simple.

 

[Draco]

I truly believe part of it is that he is tired. Sure CP3 is a problem, but Dame has been looking tired since about 10 games to go in the regular season. Next year it might be time to pace better.

Yeah Dame was overplayed and damaged. This isn't the 80's; we need to be smarter with our
starters minutes next season. Dame will look much better after rest this summer for next preseason.

 

[Natebishop3]

So what happened for about a month and half after that great stretch he had around FEB?

He's been bad since like Early March

My personal opinion is that he exerted himself so much during that insane stretch of play to make sure we got into the playoffs that he ran out of steam. He started to decline right around the time when we knew we were getting in, but we weren't sure where. Dame wanted the playoffs so badly that he put everything he had into getting us there. That's my theory, but players also go through stretches where they aren't playing as well. Curry is a freak of nature. Regardless, Dame averaged 25 ppg for the entire season. That's 6th best in the league. Only five players IN THE ENTIRE LEAGUE did better this season.

Curry
Harden
Durant
Cousins
LeBron

That's it. Those are the only players that averaged more points during the season. So I would suggest you slow your roll on criticizing him.

 

[Strenuus]

It's partially a Dame thing, because at the end of the day he needs to realize that he can't do it all. I've said since the beginning of the season that I think this will be a learning experience for him because he's figuring out when he needs to put the team on his shoulders, and when he needs to put trust in his teammates. Right now, it's hurting the team when he tries to go HAM. He has to understand that he either finds a way to get his teammates involved in this series, or we lose. It's that simple.

I wonder if he's gone down two straight possessions and shot or drove the lane... I don't remember one from game 2... and I didn't watch game 1 due to doing some stuff for charity... so I can't speak to that one.

 

[Natebishop3]

I wonder if he's gone down two straight possessions and shot or drove the lane... I don't remember one from game 2... and I didn't watch game 1 due to doing some stuff for charity... so I can't speak to that one.

He actually didn't play that badly in game one. 21 points off 7-17 shooting (41%) and 8 assists. Those are respectable numbers. He also shot 3-8 from downtown (37.5%). I think this was just a bad game for him.

 

[BonesJones]

I truly believe part of it is that he is tired. Sure CP3 is a problem, but Dame has been looking tired since about 10 games to go in the regular season. Next year it might be time to pace better.

I think he'll be done next year. He'll understand what its like to be the man for a full season, and the wear it has on him.