Thread by @ScoutWithBryan, THREAD: WHY CAN'T ANYONE STOP DAMIAN LILLARD? Lot made of drops vs [...]

THREAD: WHY CAN'T ANYONE STOP DAMIAN LILLARD? Lot made of drops vs him & how teams are allowing him to take certain shots. Let's dive in & see why it's so hard.

1st, well-stated reminder by @realStanVG that there's no magic scheme. Greats are greats for a reason. @Dame_Lillard

Ironically, DROP in theory is analytic-minded. Goal is to have guard go OVER screen & force ballhandler to take a long 2. Big is supposed to KEEP BACKING UP to take away rim, G 'rearview contests' shot.

Problem is, Dame is maybe greatest ever w Steph at pulling up from 3. (1/2)

His ability to snake dribble, even off 1st screen in Double Drag, & elevate on a dime is UNREAL. As you can see, it's not a 100% shot. Defenders like JRich do better than Burke on technique. But Dame still Dame - & amazing drawing 3 FTs - or an &1 - if he feels your contact.(2/2)

Ideally you get lucky enough that he doesn't pull up from 3, but doesn't mean you win. He's missing even fewer midrange. Or worse - he keeps the G in jail w 'hostage dribble' & gets to the rim, line, or a floater.

These 1st 2 vids showed 'drop' coverage. So what else CAN you do?

Well, you can bring the big up. Call it almost an 'aggressive drop,' w the big sometimes @ the level of the screen or at least up higher. The problem? Dame has a solution for that too. Kristaps trying to get up was almost a comedy - & now Dame's getting layups instead of 3s.(1/2)

In & out (particularly on that L side), hesi, crossover - Dame DROOLS having a slower big up higher bc the big can't move his feet quick enough to keep him from the rim. And even if you DO a decent job, he's pretty masterful at seeking out contact & flinging body into you. (2/2)

Let's revisit the drop for a sec. Traditional DROP in NBA is ideally 2-for-2 - meaning only 2 guys involved in defending PNR are the ones in it. Want other 3 guys to stay home to not allow spot-up 3's.

What if we relax that a bit & use the other 3 more actively in the PNR? (1/2)

As you can see, not much better. Now Dame is getting rid of the ball when he feels a 3rd or 4th defender. Korkmaz gets a nice steal in one, but in others now guys are getting WIDE OPEN spot-up 3's. Or, Dame will gladly make the pocket pass to the rolling 5 man. @PhilBeckner (2/2)

ANY OTHER GENIUS IDEAS?

Well, here are 2 I think we may see a bit more of. TRAPS get the freakin' ball out of his hands. Let the other guys play 4-on-3. Not easy to guard, but better than letting Dame get 50 again. Can also SWITCH if you have the personnel for it or even (1/2)

downsize so you can. Keep a body on a body - forcing POR to play like HOU & matchup-hunt. But slower guys like Maxi/Luka usually cant guard Dame either. Finally in the vid you'll see some REJECTS - where Dame drives away from the screen & unleashes hell in various other ways(2/2)

Moral of the story? Like SVG said: if there was a foolproof gameplan, someone would've done it by now. Look for more traps/switches coming up, but remember the greats are the greats for a reason. Hard to stop on a mission.

#RipCity

@JonesOnTheNBA @CHold @jwquick @BlazerFreeman

Enjoy this? Want to understand it even more? Just dropped a YouTube DEEP DIVE into why Damian Lillard is IMPOSSIBLE in PNR's: . Please share if you enjoyed! #DameTime #RipCity

@RealSkipBayless @KevinCalabro @brookeolzendam @jordanrkent @L_Hurd @PhilBeckner

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