There’s no denying that Damian Lillard is one of the most clutch players in the NBA today. This is exactly why the Milwaukee Bucks gave so much to bring him over this past summer. At this point, you could say that the Bucks are already reaping the rewards of their bold blockbuster trade during the offseason.
Damian Lillard Speaks Out on Clutch Play for Milwaukee Bucks
Lillard had another strong performance for Milwaukee on Saturday night as he helped lead his team to a 132-121 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. Dame finished with 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting, to go along with six rebounds, nine assists, a steal, and three triples in 38 minutes of action.
More importantly, though, Lillard came up big down the stretch yet again, making clutch play after clutch play in what turned out to be a nail-biter against an unrelenting Hawks side.
Dame Time isn’t all about Lillard taking over in the scoring department, though. While we all know that the seven-time All-Star is more capable of the same, even Lillard admits that it’s even more effective whenever he is able to get his teammates involved, especially in crunch time:
“I think that’s more sustainable, when it’s collective,” Lillard said. “Obviously, teams are going to look at who they expect to have the ball in those situations, and they’re gonna try to make it difficult. And with us knowing that, we gotta be willing to trust and make the next play. The more we do that, the more guys will be in situations where we need them to make a big shot or to make a free throw or to finish a high-low pass or whatever, and then the better we’ll be.”
This doesn’t just go for Dame. Sharing the ball is something the Bucks have gotten so good at, which is something that boils down to their stars’ willingness to trust their teammates.
“The more we can have those types of situations, guys will be more comfortable and competent when it comes down to it,” Lillard continued. “Ideally that’s how you want to be able to win instead of just having me or Giannis or Khris (Middleton) having to do it. You want everybody to be comfortable in the flow of whatever the defense gives us, we take advantage of it and we live with that quality possession.”
The Bucks are in a real groove right now, and they’re definitely making strides toward becoming the well-oiled machine the fans expect them to be come mid-season.
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