Coach's Corner on Damian Lillard

[tlongII]

http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/p...717/daily-dime


One glance at Lillard tells us he has the perfect body and build to play point guard in the NBA. One long look at his game tells the rest of the story, and it's one that should get Blazers fans excited.

Physically, he bears a strong resemblance to Derrick Rose -- slightly less powerful but still strong and long. And like Rose, he reminds me of a tailback in football when he has the ball, darting through traffic while lowering his hips to help absorb contact without breaking stride. This also enables him to change directions quickly, which is why he has no trouble getting by most of his defenders.

Lillard weighs 190 pounds or so now, but I suspect his weight program in Portland will be better than what he had access to in college, so seeing the 6-foot-3 point guard at 205 in a year or so can be expected. That is a lot of power in a guy who knows how to move with explosiveness.

Lillard also shows a nice shooting stroke and a confidence that he can make the deep 3-pointer with ease, yet I have not seen him hunt for that shot. Instead, he has been running the offense with an eye on both getting his teammates the ball while also being mindful of his role as a scorer. Not an easy concept to grasp for anyone but a pure point guard, which Lillard looks to be.

He may not ever be Rose as a pure scorer, but he has better vision and instiincts as a passer. With the right work ethic and coach, he's fully capable of being an upper-echelon NBA point guard, and possibly an All-Star.

[pass1st]

I say heart problem or microfracture within the 1st 2 years

[VBM]

The tlong kiss of death. Don't do it to him like that, T.