Damian Lillard hitting the basket plus all the right notes

Killer quotes from Damian Lillard in this Rusty Simmons/SF Gate feature:

"I'm from Oakland," said Lillard, who finished second in the nation with 24.5 points a game at Weber State. "Gary Payton, Jason Kidd and Brian Shaw were those kinds of people. I feel like I've got to bring that same thing to the table as an Oakland point guard.

"I want to compete. I'm not running from anything. ... I don't feel like there's a reason to sit out drills. I'm here to play basketball. I didn't fly to Chicago to sit on the sideline."