Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard has started the 2016-17 season playing the best basketball of his NBA career. The 6-3 guard in his fifth season out of Weber State has scored more points, 262 to be exact, through the first eight games of the season than any player in franchise history. And he's doing so rather efficiently, making 51 percent of his shots from the field and 40 percent from three. But you have to go deeper into his numbers, particularly from long range, to truly appreciate how the impressiveness of Lillard's early-season shooting. Never all that shy about pulling up from well behind the three-point line, Lillard has taken it to a new level this season, going 8-of-15 on shots between 27 and 35 feet and 4-of-5 on shots taken between 30 and 34 feet (for reference, the arc portion of the three-point line extends out 23 feet, 9 inches from the basket).
Once he crosses half court, you'd better pick him up. pic.twitter.com/dcydFt5iE4— Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) November 7, 2016 For most people, hitting from that distance is little more than a stroke of luck, but for Lillard, it's the product of a lot of practice in the offseason.”This summer, in a lot of my shooting workouts, I finished my workouts making five out of six from way out there,” said Lillard. “Sometimes I'd go 12 out of 15 just to give myself a standard of making a high percentage of those shots form way out there.”The practice seems to be paying off. In his last three seasons, Lillard has shot a combined 8-of-23 on shots taken between 30 and 34 feet, which, at 35 percent, is a rather respectable mark from such a long distance. But by starting the season shooting 80 percent from that range, Lillard is showing improvement in a skill that very few NBA players possess.”I've always been able to shoot from deep,” said Lillard. “I can feel (the distance), but it's not much more difficult from the closer to the three-point line than where I'm shooting it from. I think I can shoot it pretty easy, so when I get that space, I see it as a spot up from the line, a shot that I can knock down.”
Once he crosses half court, you'd better pick him up. pic.twitter.com/dcydFt5iE4
With all due respect to Jerry West, we might have to start calling @Dame_Lillard 'The Logo' pic.twitter.com/VfiwPpgDVG— Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) November 6, 2016 Which is why shooting from as far out as Lillard has been doing this season has more benefits than simply adding three points to the score. Which defenders having to pick up Lillard almost immediately after he crosses half court, it opens up opportunities for both himself and his teammates. “Now when guys got to pick me up further out it gives me more room to get around them and get downhill going at a big man,” said Lillard. “They got to address me on pick and rolls and situations like that much deeper out to even where, like against Memphis, after I shot a couple in the first half, I think I only made one but they knew that I was going to shoot it, so they started getting out further and further and I was able to pick up the ball and I'm hitting Mase (Plumlee) between the three-point line and the free throw line… I think it will just give us more space to play with, it'll be something teams will have to address further out on the court than usual.”
With all due respect to Jerry West, we might have to start calling @Dame_Lillard 'The Logo' pic.twitter.com/VfiwPpgDVG
Dame of Thrones. pic.twitter.com/eeJAbudUEr— Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) November 9, 2016
Dame of Thrones. pic.twitter.com/eeJAbudUEr
Now, is it likely that Lillard will shoot 80 percent between 30 and 34 feet for the duration of the NBA season? Probably not, though even the threat of Lillard raising up halfway between the halfcourt and three-point lines should continue to have ancillary benefits for Portland's offense, even if his percentages come back down to earth. And even if that's the case, Lillard, who noted that he doesn't even think about how far behind the line he is before pulling up, is going to keep on shooting. “If guys are backing that far off of me, I feel like I can make that shot,” said Lillard. “It's a shot that I'm willing to take, plus this summer I worked on shooting the ball up higher in the air, getting the point of release up on my shot, so I think that gives it a better chance to go in. It's a shot that I've been taking.”And, so far, making.
