Damian Lillard and Oaktown

Candace Buckner offers an insightful feature on Damian Lillard. Loved the Raymond Young part -- just what a number of the youngsters need.

Lillards totals 37

Marcus Thompson II the game details of Portland's 103-97 loss to the Golden State Warriors and Damian Lillard's 37 point contribution that almost upended the hosts.

It;s Lillard (and Oakland Rebels) time

The Portland Trailblazers are in the Bay Area and that means a homecoming for Damian Lillard and a change for the Oakland Rebels.

Marcus Thompson II offers a feature as does Rusty Simmons.

More press for Lillard

Jeremy Bauman talked with Damian Lillard, no, make that the leading candidate for Rookie of the Year. Love any sports article about nuances and intangibles.

More on Dame

The Trailblazers beat the Knicks recently in MSG and Portland Oregonian beat reporter Joe Freeman wrote:

"...Lillard, who has had his share of breathtaking moments — the dominant performance against the San Antonio Spurs on TNT, the game-winning three against the New Orleans Hornets — strengthened his rookie-of-the-year resume against the Knicks. He finished with 21 points, six assists and five rebounds and punched the Knicks in the gut down the stretch with a step-back three-pointer with 35.2 seconds left that gave the Blazers a 103-97 lead..."

Damian Lillard - made member of the Crunch Time Mafia

Henry Abbott/True Hoop has joined many others as an acolyte of The Hoops Church of Damain Lillard although Abbott also takes on some hoary basketball myths.

Gotta love the term 'crunch time mafia'

Lillard and NBA Rookie of the Year

Jackson Quick joins the media drum beating for Damian Lillard.

More kudos for Lillard

Dave Kragthrope continues the homage being paid to Damian Lillard for his ultra successful transition to the NBA. An important quote:

"I’ll be honest with you, I wish I and my staff could take more credit for Damian. We can’t," [Weber State Coach Randy] Rahe said. "I mean, Damian’s a self-made guy. My staff did an incredible job of developing him, [but] Damian did the work."

More press for Lillard

ESPN's Kenton Wong writes about Damian Lillard and what he is bringing to the trailblazers.

The Lillard story goes national

Sam Amick lauds Damian Lillard as the welcomed new face of the Portland trailblazers.

Lillard's giving back

Damian Lillard is aiding both Oakland High hoops plus Oakland Rebels basketball.

More on Dame

Here's another Damian Lillard feature.

P-and-R

Sports Illustrated's Paul Jenkins writes about Damian Lillard's immediate impact on the NBA and how his learning the pick-and-roll began the ascent.

This gets back to prep backcourters determining which college coaches and programs are utilizing the p-and-r as part of the offense, which aren't and using that piece of information in determining who to choose.

More on Dame

Mitch Stephens quotes Gerry Freitas about Damian Lillard's NBA debut.

Lillard the focus of opposing defenses

Now defenses are aware of Damian Lillard's skill set and prowess so defenses are now being designed to thwart him, as Jason Quick reports. A snippet:

“...It’s part of my growth,’’ Lillard said, unfazed. “Every team guarded me pretty much the same up until now, and now I have to learn and make adjustments. I have to adjust to how teams are going to stop me. They aren’t going to keep letting me do what I did every game...’’

So how's Dame doing?

Damian Lillard is three games into his professional career -- here are his numbers:

Game 1 versus the confounding Lakers - 35 minutes, 23 points, 11 assists

Game 2 versus tough Oklahoma City - 37 minutes, 21 points, six assists

Game 3 versus Jeremy Lin-led Houston - 42 minutes, 20 points, nine assists, six rebounds

You think he has a future in the NBA?

Lillard in select company

Opening night line: "Damian Lillard joins Isiah Thomas & Oscar Robertson as only players with 20 pts, 10 ast in NBA debut (via Elias)"

Damian Lillard & the pick-and-roll

catcat has the Damian Lillard portions of the Sports Illustrated article about the venerable pick-and-roll.

The killer quote: "He didn't become a lottery pick in spite of Weber State. He became a lottery pick because of it."

If you're a backcourter, what offensive tactics and repertoire is your coach using?

Yes, Dame's life has changed

Roy Burton talks with Damian Lilliard. A snippet:

“(My life) has changed a lot,” Lillard said. “I would go on the road and I would talk to you and that would be it. Now it’s like my life is to the public. Everything I tweet, I’m getting a thousand responses to. Everywhere I go, everybody knows who I am. It’s a lot different, so you’ve got to watch every little thing you do because people are always watching you.”

Damian Lillard keeps on giving

Roy Burton writes that Damian Lillard continues to bring attention to Weber State basketball even though no longer in Ogden.