In a postgame press conference with the media this week after a home loss to the Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks star Damian Lillard set the record straight on his reputation as a negative defender. According to Lillard, he doesn’t get his due credit on that end of the floor since he doesn’t often get torched like others in his position.
“In the last couple years of my career, it’s been something that I’ve taken pride in,” said Lillard. “I think early in my career, like most young players, especially scoring young players, it’s a learning curve defensively. Not just physically, but when you don’t know the terminology, you don’t know personnel that well, it’s a challenge to be a good defender in the NBA. And as I’ve become more experienced, I think it’s carried on as more of a narrative than actual truth. Guys not just coming out here breaking me off and putting me out there and scoring on me over and over.”
At 6’2″ and 195 pounds, Lillard doesn’t have the frame of a defensive stopper but with attention to detail, experience, and consistent effort Lillard has managed to make great improvements from his early days in the league.
“And I also never been a guy that’s going to shy away from it. You seek me out, I’m going to come to it and we are going to do it however we gotta do it,” Lillard said. “But like I said, I think it’s more of a narrative than anything else. I get my hands on the ball. I’m physical. I’m in the action. So I think that being a stat, just shows you I’m not just out there. Sometimes it’s on the ball. Sometimes I’m coming over to help. Just trying to make something happen.”
Lillard has hovered around the same defensive numbers for years. He started his career with a rating of 112.5 and that number has fluctuated over the years with various lineups. This season, Lillard’s defensive rating is 116.2, the lowest it has been since the 2018-19 season.
Individually, Lillard certainly tries on defense and he always puts up some resistance against the NBA’s best point guards. Unfortunately for Lillard, his teams have always struggled on the defensive end and it seems his efforts are never quite good enough to make a positive influence on that end of the floor. Compared to Jrue Holiday, he’s a massive downgrade for the Bucks on the defensive side of the ball.
Of course, this season as a whole has been difficult for Lillard and his team. After starting the season 3-8, Milwaukee hit rock bottom early before a recent win streak put them back in play for a top-six seed. For his part, Lillard is trying his best to stop the bleeding with averages of 25.9 points, 7.5 assists, and 4.4 rebounds per game on 45.1% shooting. At 11-10, the Bucks have risen to 5th in the East and they rank 12th on defense with a 113.2 defensive rating.
Tonight, they will fight to stay above .500 against the Boston Celtics at 7:30 PM EST at TD Garden. On December 8th, Lillard and the Bucks will head to Barclays Center for a showdown against the Brooklyn Nets at 3:30 PM EST. It’s their final game before the East Quarterfinal of the NBA Emirates Cup against the Orlando Magic at 7:00 PM EST.
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