He is a fake. Cornerstone Harden and the rest of Houston assets will show them who's momma after tonight!
I would take Damian Lillard over Harden, but not over Curry. Sure, Lillard could be smaller & not as strong as Harden and whatever, but there exists a much more important quality than those - mental strength and work ethic. Something Harden is pretty poor at, apparently.
Lillard impresses me more than Curry. Curry is a way better shooter, but Lillard can drive and doesn't avoid contact. He flops, that's for sure, but if he learns a lick of defense he will be a better guard than Curry. With that said, Lillard cannot fit in a GSW type of system. I don't see a flip and fit in this case. He would still shine, just not as bright. Who knows, maybe with those illegal screens Lillard might adjust his game a bit and the fit will be induced.
way too much fawning over a guy who is shooting 38% in the playoffs. Lillard was not very effective in the 1st round against LAC, and completely got out-classed by Chris Paul before he got injured. Make no mistake, Portland has numerous young, talented players who are/were under-utilized and that's why they can still pull out a win even when Lillard has an off-game, unlike Houston. I know media likes to portray it as though Lillard is carrying them, but their starting 5 is actually pretty solid IMO. I'm especially impressed by how good Plumlee and Aminu is.
If I could shake off that Lillard dagger two years ago, he would be one of my favorite player next to Curry. Unfortunately, I can't shake that off every time I see his face. I'll just admire and hate at the same time.
In a non-Curry/Thompson era, Lillard would be given more recognition as one of the 3-point shooters in the league. If he can up his efficiency, he'll be considered among the elite players in the league, but I think he has a stigma of high volume scorer. But he's young enough to make another leap into that level.
Anybody in this thread mentioning that he makes an effort to try to bond with his teammates. He gets them together to hangout with.. Dunno why Aldridge would leave such a situation.