tlongII
11-02-2012, 11:49 AM
http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/index.ssf/2012/11/after_historic_debut_blazers_damian_lillard_faces. html
http://media.oregonlive.com/blazers_impact/photo/11797132-large.jpg
Damian Lillard had 23 points and 11 rebounds in his NBA debut, a 116-106 Blazers' victory over the Lakers.
TUALATIN – Soon after the Trail Blazers’ 116-106 season-opening win over the Lakers on Wednesday, a member of Portland’s media relations staff told Damian Lillard that the rookie point guard had accomplished something special by getting 23 points and 11 assists in the win.
Lillard was told that he became just the third player in NBA history to have at least 20 points and 10 assists in his debut game, joining Isiah Thomas and Oscar Robertson.
“When he first told me, I didn’t know what he was talking about,” Lillard said after the Blazers practiced Thursday. “I thought he was talking about Isaiah Thomas from the Kings. Then somebody tweeted it to me and I saw what it was, and I thought, that’s cool.”
Lillard got his first real taste of just how big a stage he has stepped onto after spending four years of college basketball in relative obscurity, nationally-speaking, at Weber State. He said his Twitter and Instagram accounts lit up after the game.
“At Weber State, we win a game, and 80 percent of the world or the United States didn’t even know who Weber State was,” Lillard said. “People around the school would say stuff to me, my teammates, but this is on a national stage.”
Lillard and the rest of the Blazers shift to a different kind of challenge with their first road trip of the season, starting with one of the league’s toughest challenges, at Oklahoma City against the defending Western Conference champion Thunder.
Despite having played two preseason games at the Rose Garden, Lillard said the famed Portland atmosphere was at a “whole other level” Wednesday. He will see the other end of it Friday against the Thunder, whose home crowd at Chesapeake Energy Arena is considered one of the NBA’s loudest. Lillard was asked if he’s ready for the test.
“I think so,” he said. “I’ve never played there, so I can’t tell you. I won’t be shaken by it, I don’t think I’ll be rattled by it or anything. But it’ll be a challenge when the crowd gets behind them, because it was a challenge for a great team like the Lakers when the crowd got behind us.”
After facing the Lakers’ Steve Nash, Lillard will be matched against a very different type of point guard in OKC’s super-athletic Russell Westbrook.
“What I tell Damian is, he’s got a challenge every night,” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. “Steve Nash presents one problem or challenge, Westbrook does what he does with his athleticism and size and strength, and then you’ve got (Houston’s) Jeremy Lin the next night. So every night he comes in with a challenge, and one of his challenges this season is to learn the league and learn what different players do. The league is going to try to figure him out and he has to figure the league out.”
Stotts has prepared to play the Thunder a lot in the last two seasons as an assistant coach with Dallas. The Mavericks played the Thunder four times during each regular season and also had playoff series against them both seasons.
But the Thunder have undergone a significant change this week by trading one part of their Big Three, dealing James Harden to Houston as part of the multi-player trade that sent veteran sharp-shooter Kevin Martin and rookie Jeremy Lamb to OKC. The trade came after the Thunder played all their preseason games, so their game tonight at San Antonio will be the first real look at the new lineup.
Stotts said it will very much like the way the Blazers prepared for the Lakers, who only played one preseason with their superstar-laden roster of Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Steve Nash and Pau Gasol together, but whose season opener on Tuesday against Dallas gave Stotts and his staff a more rounded look at what to expect Wednesday.
“It’s like playing the Lakers,” Stotts said of preparing for OKC. “We saw them play in preseason, but watching them play against Dallas was a much better idea of their team, and I think we’ll get the same idea tonight when (the Thunder) play San Antonio.”
The Blazers watched a little video from Wednesday win Thursday, but were mostly ready to turn the page.
“The big thing in this league is not to get too high or too low, enjoy the moment and move on,” Stotts said.
Notes: Reserve point guard Ronnie Price (high right ankle sprain) will make the road trip, but his status remains day-to-day. … Stotts said his rotation will remain close what he used Wednesday, when Sasha Pavlovic, Meyers Leonard, Jared Jeffries and Nolan Smith came off the bench, and Stotts kept at least two starters in the game most of the time. The only change would be if Price is able to play, Stotts said. … Nicolas Batum on guarding OKC star forward Kevin Durant: “Just try to make him work, try to make everything tough. If you let him go free, he will kill you. Try to make him have a tough night. He’s going to get 20, 25 shots anyway, so you try to contest every shot.”
http://media.oregonlive.com/blazers_impact/photo/11797132-large.jpg
Damian Lillard had 23 points and 11 rebounds in his NBA debut, a 116-106 Blazers' victory over the Lakers.
TUALATIN – Soon after the Trail Blazers’ 116-106 season-opening win over the Lakers on Wednesday, a member of Portland’s media relations staff told Damian Lillard that the rookie point guard had accomplished something special by getting 23 points and 11 assists in the win.
Lillard was told that he became just the third player in NBA history to have at least 20 points and 10 assists in his debut game, joining Isiah Thomas and Oscar Robertson.
“When he first told me, I didn’t know what he was talking about,” Lillard said after the Blazers practiced Thursday. “I thought he was talking about Isaiah Thomas from the Kings. Then somebody tweeted it to me and I saw what it was, and I thought, that’s cool.”
Lillard got his first real taste of just how big a stage he has stepped onto after spending four years of college basketball in relative obscurity, nationally-speaking, at Weber State. He said his Twitter and Instagram accounts lit up after the game.
“At Weber State, we win a game, and 80 percent of the world or the United States didn’t even know who Weber State was,” Lillard said. “People around the school would say stuff to me, my teammates, but this is on a national stage.”
Lillard and the rest of the Blazers shift to a different kind of challenge with their first road trip of the season, starting with one of the league’s toughest challenges, at Oklahoma City against the defending Western Conference champion Thunder.
Despite having played two preseason games at the Rose Garden, Lillard said the famed Portland atmosphere was at a “whole other level” Wednesday. He will see the other end of it Friday against the Thunder, whose home crowd at Chesapeake Energy Arena is considered one of the NBA’s loudest. Lillard was asked if he’s ready for the test.
“I think so,” he said. “I’ve never played there, so I can’t tell you. I won’t be shaken by it, I don’t think I’ll be rattled by it or anything. But it’ll be a challenge when the crowd gets behind them, because it was a challenge for a great team like the Lakers when the crowd got behind us.”
After facing the Lakers’ Steve Nash, Lillard will be matched against a very different type of point guard in OKC’s super-athletic Russell Westbrook.
“What I tell Damian is, he’s got a challenge every night,” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. “Steve Nash presents one problem or challenge, Westbrook does what he does with his athleticism and size and strength, and then you’ve got (Houston’s) Jeremy Lin the next night. So every night he comes in with a challenge, and one of his challenges this season is to learn the league and learn what different players do. The league is going to try to figure him out and he has to figure the league out.”
Stotts has prepared to play the Thunder a lot in the last two seasons as an assistant coach with Dallas. The Mavericks played the Thunder four times during each regular season and also had playoff series against them both seasons.
But the Thunder have undergone a significant change this week by trading one part of their Big Three, dealing James Harden to Houston as part of the multi-player trade that sent veteran sharp-shooter Kevin Martin and rookie Jeremy Lamb to OKC. The trade came after the Thunder played all their preseason games, so their game tonight at San Antonio will be the first real look at the new lineup.
Stotts said it will very much like the way the Blazers prepared for the Lakers, who only played one preseason with their superstar-laden roster of Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Steve Nash and Pau Gasol together, but whose season opener on Tuesday against Dallas gave Stotts and his staff a more rounded look at what to expect Wednesday.
“It’s like playing the Lakers,” Stotts said of preparing for OKC. “We saw them play in preseason, but watching them play against Dallas was a much better idea of their team, and I think we’ll get the same idea tonight when (the Thunder) play San Antonio.”
The Blazers watched a little video from Wednesday win Thursday, but were mostly ready to turn the page.
“The big thing in this league is not to get too high or too low, enjoy the moment and move on,” Stotts said.
Notes: Reserve point guard Ronnie Price (high right ankle sprain) will make the road trip, but his status remains day-to-day. … Stotts said his rotation will remain close what he used Wednesday, when Sasha Pavlovic, Meyers Leonard, Jared Jeffries and Nolan Smith came off the bench, and Stotts kept at least two starters in the game most of the time. The only change would be if Price is able to play, Stotts said. … Nicolas Batum on guarding OKC star forward Kevin Durant: “Just try to make him work, try to make everything tough. If you let him go free, he will kill you. Try to make him have a tough night. He’s going to get 20, 25 shots anyway, so you try to contest every shot.”