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PORTLAND, Oregon. – When he came out of the locker room, Damian Lillard adjusted his scarlet vest and walked down the slender corridor into the belly of the Moda Center before getting to the podium for his post-game press conference.
The corridor, measuring less than 3 meters wide, is filled with people after the match – friends, families, teammates, team employees, agents, journalists – and the fact that the Denver Nuggets locker room is just next to the podium. There always seems to be a crowd around Lillard where he goes, and even after the end of the match, never a Nugget is too far away.
This is a recurring theme of the series: Damian Lillard does not seem to have the necessary space.
"I think it's obvious: they try to show bodies and make me play in a crowd," said Lillard. "Finding the open man, that's what I'm trying to do." Try to see where the help is coming from, to see where it's coming from. Another guy and do this game and always find a way to be aggressive and seek out Do not let them make me a passive player.I can really see them trying to be a little more aggressive and having more body around me. "
| Lillard FGs | |
|---|---|
| Gary Harris | 14-30 |
| Torrey Craig | 6-22 |
| Nikola Jokic | 3-7 |
| Malik Beasley | 1-5 |
| Will Barton | 1-4 |
| Jamal Murray | 1-3 |
| Plumlee Bricklayer | 2-3 |
| Paul Millsap | 3-3 |
| Monte Morris | 1-1 |
| >> Lillard: 4-5 in transition; 0-1 on the uprisings | |
Like any other person with an internet connection or television, the Nuggets saw how Lillard tormented the Oklahoma City Thunder in their first-round series. They saw the logo shots. They saw dramatic changes in speed with every ruthless rider. They figured out how a mere 3 points of Lillard could feel like a 10-0 run, energize the crowd and deflate the defenders.
In the series against Thunder, Lillard opened it with a missile of some 32 feet and finished it with a 37. He went 5 out of 5 out of 3 against thunder to 30 feet or more from the hoop. Against the nuggets, it is 2-of-5 of 30-plus.
"I think they're taking it high enough, they have to be open," said Blazers coach Terry Stotts. "For Lady, an open 3 is a good 3. They take it in a half-court, they do not leave much space for it, so I do not think these 3 are there."
Nuggets assistant Wes Unseld Jr. was at the heart of Denver's defensive turnaround this season and her focus on the Blazers was not too complicated. He saw the things that were causing problems to the Thunder – their pickup points were too low, their big ones were not big enough, they were not enough in the ball which allowed him to reject the screens .
"It seemed to us that there was a lot of free space in this series, and this is not a blow for OKC, we just wanted to be a little better," said L & # 39; Nuggets coach Mike Malone. "We did not want him to be 33 years old at night."
Lillard scored 28 goals in Game 4, a 116-112 loss that tied the series at 2-2, but he only shot 9 of 22 and 2 of 7 on the score of 3. The frustration was as obvious to him. . He tries not to press, but the Nuggets try to force the ball. He trusts the pass, but the Nuggets want him to pass. He's a scorer. it's what makes him elite. But he is also determined to play properly and rely on his teammates. That's what worked in Games 2 and 3 with CJ McCollum, Rodney Hood, Enes Kanter and Moe Harkless, all of whom had big games. He tries to choose his seats, waiting for the defense to soften.
0:28
Damian Lillard hides behind the screen then drains the 3-pointer while being the victim of a fault on the part of Will Barton.
Lillard's first quarter was brilliant, with perfect passes and pennies near the shooters in the corner as he orchestrated Denver's attention on him. Lillard lives, however, for crucial moments, stabbing and game-changing games. The Nuggets are committed to forcing someone else to make them. Lillard did not have much opportunity for rhythm. He left at 4 out of 14 of the ground and showed signs of frustration as he struggled to force the problem.
"I think when you see a defense come to you, you have to aggressively identify what you think they're trying to do and what you think they're trying to do," said Lillard. "Try to get them to pay for it, try to attack them with the pass, maybe on the weak side or wherever they come from, attack them there and try to exploit them." way, it'll break down and maybe they'll go in. or it softens because they're paranoid about the other side.Then become more aggressive to score the ball If it does not work, then you must understand, maybe attack, go down and try to shoot Try to make them pay with the pass and see if it will work by dropping the ball, otherwise you have to stay aggressive. "
This state of mind seemed to bear fruit in the fourth quarter, where Lillard had scored 15 goals on 5 shots out of 8. Opportunities began to show, and he took them. Although very similar to the time, he missed three free throws, including a critic with 20.3 seconds that could have reduced Denver's lead to one.
Find everything you need to know about the playoffs here.
Outside the first game where he scored 39, Lillard did not have the same kind of dominant and unstoppable look that he had on OKC. Keepsake nuggets Jamal Murray was questioned about the measures taken by the Nuggets to prevent this, and all the time Murray answered, Jokic scanned the stats sheet in front of him, frowning as if something was wrong.
"Brother, he scored 30 points," he said, shaking his head.
It was actually 28, and it's certainly not the 33 that he compared to OKC with Malone. It goes further than this series too, with the Nuggets with Lillard at 24.3 points, 40.3% of the pack and only 27.1% against 3 in eight games, combined in series and in a row. Lillard scored on average 26.5 points against 44.9% on the field and 38.2% against 3.
"We have not done anything yet," said Malone with a warning tone. "This is a tied series and we have taken the advantage over Homecourt, but Lady is able to accumulate 40 and 50 in the blink of an eye." So, we do not think so. at all we discovered it. "
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