© Jovanny Hernandez / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
Damian Lillard solves the Milwaukee Bucks' greatest postseason weakness: Late-game scoring
Damian Lillard’s arrival in Milwaukee will obviously boost the Bucks’ offense. The former Weber State standout is coming off a season wherein he averaged over 32 points per game, good for third in the NBA.
However, more than the number of points that Lillard would produce, he would produce them that would make the greatest impact in Milwaukee. Lillard has been among the league’s best late-game scoring threats since entering the NBA, something that would alleviate the Bucks’ greatest weakness in the NBA Playoffs.
Playoff struggles
The Bucks’ late-game struggles were never more evident than in the last two games of their five-game demise at the hands of the Miami Heat. When the game was on the line, the Heat consistently went to their closer, Jimmy Butler and Jimmy Buckets delivered close wins in Games 4 and 5.
The Bucks, though, struggled to get into their offense. The team’s lead guard, Jrue Holiday, was particularly atrocious in crunchtime in that series.
“The outgoing Holiday is one of the NBA’s best defensive guards—he was an All-Defensive honoree in all three seasons he played in Milwaukee—but an erratic postseason scorer. Over the last three postseasons, Holiday ranked 42nd in postseason true shooting percentage out of 43 players who attempted at least 300 shots, ahead of only noted chucker Dillon Brooks,” Zach Kram of The Ringer wrote.
The Dame difference
Lillard, on the other hand, turns into a different animal in crunch time. With the game on the line and the clock ticking down, the former Blazers star has been able to elevate his game above and beyond what one would expect from a player of his caliber.
“He’s a career 37 percent 3-point shooter on high, difficult volume; an elite pick-and-roll creator who should form an immediately dominant thunder-and-lightning pairing with Giannis; and one of the NBA’s best clutch performers. “Dame Time” is both a nickname and a solution for the Bucks’ greatest weakness, as they so often fumbled late-game possessions in the postseason,” Kram added.
