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Blazers Life Without Superstar Damian Lillard

By Ty Delbridge

Oct 7, 2016; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) dances with Trail Blazers
Oct 7, 2016; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) dances with Trail Blazers /
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Portland Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts reacts during a NBA game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Portland Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts . Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

The Stats Without Lillard

With no Lillard, the Blazers high powered offense has slowed down. Per nba.com the Blazers scoring is down from 107.3 PPG to 99.5 PPG, their shot attempts are down from 85.5 FGA to 76.8 FGA. The 3pt shot attempts are down from 28.6 3PA to 22.5 3PA.

The bright side is that the defense has stepped up. The Blazers have had the worst defense rating all year at 109.7 but these last 4 games their defense rating is at 97.8. Their steals are up from 7.1 to 8.5. After allowing 110.9 PPG this year, the last four games has seen vast improvement with 95.8 PPG. Also, the pace is down from 99.8 to 96.85.

This a lot of numbers and stats, but what this says is that the Blazers haven’t been terrible. In fact, they may have found a new way of playing that could lead to success. If they can add Lillard’s fire power and keep this style of D up, the Blazers may be able to live up to the hype for this season.