Simple math says you crowd Damian Lillard every dang time down the floor, from about the logo on. But if 2 < 3 isn’t a sexy enough case for why the Denver Nuggets were doing what they do heading into Game 5 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals, there’s also this:
When the Blazers’ sharpshooter this season had drained fewer than 34 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc before Tuesday night, Portland was a combined 23-21 (.523), including 2-3 from the playoffs, going into Game 5 in the Pepsi Center. When Dame Time was connecting at 34 percent or better from downtown, Portland was 36-11 (.766), 4-0 in the postseason.
“If you press up, (Lillard) is going to go by you,” Nuggets wing forward and defensive ace Torrey Craig explained early Tuesday afternoon. “If you melt he too much ’s shooting a three. So it’s a fine line. It’s kind of like playing with fire. You&rsquo.
“We just try to do a good job of eventually not letting him shoot on rhythm threes. So if he’s going to shoot threes, make sure that they ’re contested. ”
Tame Dame is really more of a contain-slash-minimize operation as opposed. Craig and wing shield Gary Harris, who had attracted Lillard as his defensive assignment for nearly all possessions during the series’ initial four tilts, had picked the crash-the-paint toxin as opposed to the Dame-rips-your-heart-outta-your-chest-from-35-feet-out alternative, aka “The Paul George Plan. ”
Through Game 4, according to NBA.com, Lillard had actually attempted the identical amount of layups against the Nuggets (7.0 per game) as he did in a 5-game series victory over Oklahoma City in the first round. The rub? Against Denver, he&rsquo appearances at a .678 clip compared to .486 versus the Thunder.
“He’s going until the pick-and-roll, he’s attempting to strike every seam he receives,” Craig observed. “We’ve got to do a better job of being square with him, not let him attack seams. ”
In five games against OKC, Lillard had shot 42.1 percent from the floor and 45 percent from beyond the arc when matched up against arch-rival Russell Westbrook and 48.4 percent from the floor and 30.8 percent on treys when guarded by the Thunder’s Dennis Schroder.
Through the first four games against the Nuggets, though, Dame’s numbers had dipped to 41.9 percent from the floor and only 29.4 percent on treys when guarded by the 6-4 Harris and 32 percent from the floor and 0.0 from beyond the arc when matched up with the 6-7 Craig. Against Denver, Dame had taken fewer jumpers per game (13.8) and had made only 29.1 percent of those compared to 16.8 against the Thunder in a 44.3 percent clip.
Like the guy said, it’s a fine line.
“I think the problem is both teams knowing each other so well,” Lillard noted before Game 5.
“I noticed that there are a few things I can do just by becoming more assertive, getting more … Once I get past my guy, I began to do a few things. I definitely found a few things that I felt great (about). ”
The Nuggets, meanwhile, felt great to see Lillard still getting his (27.3 points per game through Game 4), but getting it closer to the hoop — on volume and on free throws as opposed to deadly efficiency from deep.
To wit: Dame Time handled, per game, 18.8 points on 56.6 possessions against Oklahoma City’s mix of Westbrook and Schroder, or 0.332 points per possession. Going into Game 5 of the Nuggets series, he’d collected 17.0 points on 60.8 possessions when guarded by Harris or Craig, or 0.28 points per possession.
“Gary’s played a lot, so he’s kind of familiar with him,” Craig explained. “He knows what he likes to do, the stains he likes to get to. I think Gary is doing a good job of being physical with him, staying into him and not letting him get shots that are comfy. ”
Or, for that matter, comfy appearances.
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