© Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
Damian Lillard shares how he took advantage of the Los Angeles Clippers’ defensive coverage to get his teammates open shots
Milwaukee Bucks superstar Damian Lillard has seen every defensive coverage in the NBA. Having been the main man of the Portland Trail Blazers for over a decade, he was at the top of every opposing team’s scouting report as they tried to limit his scoring and playmaking abilities.
Now playing for the Bucks, Lillard shared that his experience dealing with various defensive schemes has helped him read and react quickly on the court. In a recent game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Dame explained how he took advantage of their aggressive defense to create opportunities for his teammates.
Played decoy
With All-Star teammates Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton sidelined against the Clippers, Lillard found himself in a familiar situation, carrying most of the offensive load on his shoulders. While the eight-time All-Star scored a whopping 41 points in a thrilling come-from-behind win, he relayed that he was also able to impact the game as a decoy.
“It was my typical experience, I guess, for my career up until this point where I’m coming out, I’m attacking, kind of getting what I want to get early in the game, and their adjustment is to run guys at me or trap or send a double team,” Lillard said.
“And it was familiar. So, sometimes I attacked it and applied pressure to the double team, so they didn’t think that they were just taking me out of the game.”
Saw seams he could exploit
Lillard added the Clippers’ defense at times overreacted, sending an extra guy on the blitz on the pick-and-roll, thereby opening the floor up even more for his teammates. The stat sheet showed that Dame only had four assists. However, it was the pass that led to a pass that resulted in a basket that delivered the impact of his playmaking.
“And then they would overreact. Sometimes, it would be a third guy coming into the paint. And then other times, I would act like I was going to attack and just make them get more aggressive and pull them out of the play and then throw it back and try to take advantage of the four-on-three. And that was that was pretty much all I did,” Lillard explained.
“The game kind of slowed down for me because they got aggressive. I know that that’s when you got to just kind of be a decoy and trust the next play.”
