What can opposing teams do to slow down Lillard?
Even in the event of him having a bad game shooting the ball, Lillard is still capable of scoring 20-plus points. He is such a dynamic scorer who can put the ball in the basket in a variety of ways.
Lillard can also impact a game with his passing ability, getting the ball to his teammates and putting them in position to score easy baskets. Opposing teams may even consider double-teaming him and forcing him to give the ball up, but consideration must be given to the plethora of shooters the Blazers have who can bury wide open shots if given the opportunity.
Carmelo Anthony, CJ McCollum, Gary Trent Jr., and Anfernee Simons are shooting 38 percent from downtown collectively while the Blazers rank 16th in the NBA in 3-point percentage (37.4%).
Opponents may even assign their best defensive option to guard Lillard, but he could still be effective using screens or dribble hand-offs or create a mismatch on switches to a weaker defender.