Damian Lillard will not keep a good memory of his annual stay at OKC. Twice, the Blazers had the opportunity to win, and twice, the Thunder was more “clutch”.
After Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s “buzzer beater” on Monday night, it was Lu Dort who stood out with a big “stop” on Damian Lillard’s last attempt.
The young people of the Thunder are more effective than expected in this first third of the season, and Damian Lillard advises, in half words, to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to complete his project. Clearly, the Blazer recognizes himself in the situation of his young opponent.
“The grass is not greener elsewhere” repeats Damian Lillard. “You never know what it’s going to be like elsewhere or how the other team is going to view you. Especially when we had injuries like him. We never know. I will also tell him that a lot of people who say let him go and that kind of thing, won’t have to suffer the consequences if it doesn’t work out. They will never have to put themselves in his place. »
Clearly, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is in a good situation, and he needs to be patient.
“He is in the process of imposing himself” assures Damian Lillardwho remembers his personal case. “I remember when I was younger and I became the leader of a team… I see that he is in this period. He’s trying to show what he can do – almost like a debutante ball. He is having a great season. He plays with confidence, and it’s nice to see, except when it’s against us…”
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2018-19 | LAKE | 82 | 27 | 47.6 | 36.7 | 80.0 | 0.7 | 2.1 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 10.8 |
| 2019-20 | OKAY | 70 | 35 | 47.1 | 34.7 | 80.7 | 0.7 | 5.2 | 5.9 | 3.3 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 19.0 |
| 2020-21 | OKAY | 35 | 34 | 50.8 | 41.8 | 80.8 | 0.5 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 5.9 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 23.7 |
| 2021-22 | OKAY | 56 | 35 | 45.3 | 30.0 | 81.0 | 0.7 | 4.3 | 5.0 | 5.9 | 2.5 | 1.3 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 24.5 |
| 2022-23 | OKAY | 28 | 36 | 50.1 | 34.5 | 93.3 | 0.8 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 5.8 | 2.6 | 1.7 | 3.4 | 1.0 | 31.3 |
| Total | 271 | 32 | 47.7 | 34.8 | 83.1 | 0.7 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 19.6 | |
