Portland Trail Blazers superstar Damian Lillard put the world on notice in his Olympic debut, but it wasn’t enough as Nigeria upset USA, 90-87. This marks the first defeat for USA Basketball in 40 games including exhibitions, according to Deadline.
Nigeria is loaded with NBA professionals, and that top-level talent propelled them to the upset.
The Miami Heat’s Gabe Vincent led the way for the opponent, dropping a game-high 21 points on 6-9 shooting. Damian Lillard, playing surrounded by a star-studded lineup, went for 14 points and 4 assists in a little under 28 minutes played.
Despite the defeat, Damian Lillard showed what he can do surrounded by talent
Lillard got right to work, proving very comfortable in this international setting. He struggled down the stretch though, clearly bothered by the length of Nigeria’s defenders, possibly due to his unfamiliarity with not being the primary playmaker in crunch time.
This loss is a historic upset—Nigeria was a 30-point underdog—but it doesn’t mean that USA is no longer the runaway favorite for the gold medal. This will be a reality check for the team, with most players making their Olympic debuts.
Encouraging for Blazers fans was the ease that Dame performed with players in his tier of excellence. The chemistry he displayed with star big men Bam Adebayo and Draymond Green was especially enticing.
Lillard was run through some early actions involving the two bigs creating space for him off of screens and dribble handoffs. Hopefully, new Head Coach Chauncey Billups is taking note of these plays to add to his own sets for the upcoming season.
That's that @Dame_lillard range 😍 🇺🇸@usabasketball | #RipCity pic.twitter.com/lrRUxZ0Hdj
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) July 11, 2021
In the above play, Lillard sets a screen for Zach Lavine to cut through. After setting the pick, he flashes to the 3-point line and receives a handoff followed by a screen from Green. This creates more than enough space for Dame and he launches away for an easy three points.
This exact type of action can and should be replicated often next season with either CJ McCollum or Norman Powell cutting through and Jusuf Nurkic running the handoff with Dame.
We should see plenty more plays like this as Lillard and the rest of USA Basketball continue going for the gold; hopefully, we’ll see them when he returns to Portland as well.
Lillard laces them up again on July 12th at 5 PM Portland time against Australia.