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Until now, in the 2018-2019 playoffs, Damian Lillard was damn near automatic when he shot several feet behind the 3-point line. However, as our old friend, the Washington Post's Ben Golliver, writes, Lillard's performance is the result of a year of hard work with the player development coach Phil Beckner and the Blazers' sports performance coach, Ben. Kenyon:
The three men decided early last summer that extending Lillard's reach was their off-season priority. The objectives were simple: to give Lillard a weapon capable of stretching the opponent's defenses beyond breaking point, and to prepare Lillard's mind, body and shots for a moment, just like the last ones. seconds of the fifth match.
"These situations are treated well before the time," Lillard said. "In the summer, when you really get ready for training and conditioning. When you deceive yourself, you fail in these moments and you plant. When you really put time in it, it always becomes clear. "
Golliver also described one of Beckner's exercises that Lillard emphasized:
In a new exercise called "NBA 100" designed by Beckner to test the hitting and stamina, Lillard begins by hitting as many consecutive shots as possible in the right corner, earning one point for each mark. When he misses, he advances into the midrange and hits as many shots as he can until he misses. Then he takes a layup before repeating the process on the right wing, top of the bow, left wing and left corner.
A winning score is 100 points. The record, set by one of Beckner's other customers in the NBA, was 207.
"In his first try, he passed the 100 mark but did not break the record," recalls Beckner, 36. "He would not even look at me and say a word. He headed for the bottom line and put his hands on his head as he had just lost an NBA game. Then he went back to the corner and said, "Once again." He was so pissed off. He did not just want to win; he wanted the record. This is Kobe Bryant's status. "
On his second attempt, Lillard scored 311 points, which means he managed 311 of 321 shots. Subtract the five layups, which equates to an absurd 96.8% on three-pointers and midrange jumpers.
Golliver also gives us a glimpse of Beckner's reaction when Lillard scored 37 in the playoffs in the fifth game against the Oklahoma City Thunder last week:
Beckner was nervously watching the fifth game from home in Arizona, while Kenyon was watching the action from his seat on the team bench. Both coaches knew what was coming. Despite the high stakes and George's defense, Lillard slammed to dance to a targeted spot, dishing out a smooth shot and barely reacting with the weather. Beckner screamed so loud that he became hoarse. Kenyon's mind returned to the opposite trashy conversation between Lillard and the Blazers earlier in the Chippy series.
"He did not bite on the hook," Kenyon said. "We could have derailed mentally, but he did not allow it. I knew he was going to arrive because he had done it all summer. When he shot, everything we worked on came together. "
As Lillard said when he talked about "shooting," that moment was clearly the result of long hours of work. Be sure to read the full text of Golliver for WaPo here.
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