Damian Lillard Is Overrated

If you follow basketball, there’s a considerable chance that you’ve heard the statement that “Damian Lillard is underrated” or “Damian Lillard is slept on.” If you watch basketball and have at least one functioning ear or eye, it wouldn’t be hard to hear or see those claims. I see it all the time on different social media platforms, sports talk radio, top-five lists, etc.

The statement was true a couple years ago when he was getting snubbed out of the NBA’s All-Star Game roster. For example, in the 2016-17 season, Lillard didn’t make the cut for the All-Star Game, even though he averaged a career-high 27 PPG and 5.9 assists. However, for Lillard, that statement is no longer valid. Damian Lillard has become overrated.

Just to clarify, when I say Lillard is overrated I’m not saying that he’s bad at basketball. The guy is very talented when it comes to putting the ball in the hoop. When he’s in his bag, it’s must-see. To me, Lillard is the fifth-best point guard in the league. However, when I was researching this topic, the evidence that I’ll provide later in this article convinced me that Lillard isn’t as good as some people say he is.

To me, Lillard is an A- at best player. He’s in the same class as John Wall, players who are elite point guards but who aren’t on the level as Steph Curry and Russell Westbrook. One of the reasons why Lillard, to me, is overrated is that he’s really just a scorer. He’s one of the league’s best with 26.6 PPG this season, but that’s it.

Sure, Lillard was improving as a playmaker last season with his near seven assists a game. However, getting assists, in my opinion, doesn’t always mean a player is a playmaker. He’s also averaging a career-low 5.3 assists with two turnovers this season, so the idea that he’s a playmaker is out the window.

He’s also a defensive liability for the Portland TrailBlazers. Lillard’s lack of defense is more apparent due to the Blazers currently being one of the league’s best defenses regarding points allowed (106.2) and their opponent’s field goal percentage (42.6%). Right now, he has a defensive box plus/minus of -0.4 and a career-low 0.5 in defensive win shares. The Blazers are even a better team defensively when Lillard isn’t on the court. 

Now, the postseason performances are where it really matters. The postseason is what separates the great players from the rest. That’s really what made me decide that Lillard is overrated.

Postseason performances hurt Lillard the most. Yes, we all saw the iconic game-winning buzzer-beater vs. the Houston Rockets in 2014 to advance to the second round of the Western Conference Playoffs. It’s also one of the most overplayed NBA moments of all-time just to add in. However, this can’t hide the fact that Lillard is one of the most inefficient scorers in NBA playoff history.

In the playoffs, stars are supposed to elevate their game, but for Lillard, he takes it down a notch. “Dame Dolla” shoots 40% from the field and 34.1% from three in his postseason career. He shoots worse in the postseason than in the regular season

After famously beating the Rockets in 2014, Lillard was throwing up bricks from three-point land vs. the Spurs in the semi-finals. He shot 23 threes and only made four of them throughout the whole series. That’s 17.4%. The balls Lillard was shooting from three were being rejected from the rim worse than nerds being rejected by the most popular girl in the school to prom.

In the first round of the next season against the Memphis Grizzlies, he shot 16.1% from downtown. Yes, 16.1%, and two years later he only made 28.1% of his threes. Shooting below 30% multiple times from three in a series is terrible for an above-average shooter.

And he’s still a defensive liability. In many playoff series, Lillard’s defensive rating is 115 or higher. To be on the same level as Kyrie, Chris Paul, and others, you have to take your game to the next level in the postseason and time, and time again Lillard just doesn’t do that.

For a more recent example of Lillard’s playoff shooting disasters, let’s look at the first round of the 2017-18 NBA playoffs. Dame put up an MVP-type regular season that led the Blazers to the third seed in the brutal Western Conference. They were met by Anthony Davis and the sixth-seeded New Orleans Pelicans. The Pelicans were without their All-NBA center in DeMarcus Cousins. Going into the series, I and many others, expected Lillard to put on a show on offense and beat the Pelicans in around six games.

To my surprise, Lillard was nowhere to be seen. He went from averaging about 27 PPG in the regular season to a near 10-point drop off of 18 PPG against the Pelicans. His face was on the back of milk cartons.

Like every postseason, Lillard was inefficient in scoring. For a scorer, he had an abysmal 35.2 FG%. He also attempted 7.5 threes a game while only connecting on 30% of them.

To add to his offensive mishaps, he almost matched his turnovers and assists with four. It’s not surprising that he was terrible on defense with a -0.4 defensive box plus/minus and 0 in defensive win shares. However, what is surprising is that a solid point guard in Jrue Holiday dropped 28 PPG on his head. If Lillard is as good as people say he is he shouldn’t let a B overall player outplay like that.

For example, in the game highlights via. House of Highlights, Lillard was shut down in game three of that series with 20 points on 36% shooting from the field, six more turnovers than assists, and a -24 plus/minus.

To make the situation worse, the third-seed Blazers got swept by the sixth-seed Pelicans. I know the Pelicans were a matchup problem for the Blazers, but *in Stephen A. Smith’s voice* “they could not get one game?” It’s safe to say that Lillard was Holiday’s son in that series.

pic.twitter.com/tp8zEdMzLI

— 🚀 (@HardenEffect) April 18, 2018

You would expect a guy who continually whines in interviews that he’s slept on or he deserves to be on the All-NBA First-Team roster to perform at an All-NBA First-Team level. And speaking of the All-NBA First-Team, in my opinion, Westbrook should’ve been on the First-Team instead of Lillard. I think the whole Westbrook triple-double thing is overrated because he’s a stat-padder, but averaging at least 25, 10, and 10 for the second-straight season is still impressive.

This is why I don’t see Lillard as a superstar in the NBA. He always racks up great regular season stats, however, when it counts he doesn’t elevate his game. Sure, he can have his playoff moments here and there, but if you want to be considered a superstar like he says he is, the category that features the talents of LeBron James and Kevin Durant, you have to take your game to the next level for the whole postseason as they do.

I also don’t see Lillard being that number one guy on a championship winning team. Based off of his playoff performances, he can’t rise above and lead his team deep into the playoffs regularly as the number one option.

Now, bringing it back to the current season the Blazers are red-hot. They’re sitting at the third best team in the Western Conference with a record of 10-3. They’ve had qualities wins over the Celtics, Lakers, and Spurs. The good start of the season is led by Lillard’s All-NBA team type stats. But, this is only the start of the season, and things could get worse for the Blazers (or even better). Also, this is the regular season, not the postseason. Lillard is putting up great stats now but when the playoffs come will he still play great?

I am not “sleeping” on him by calling him overrated. I obviously can see that the guy is currently one of the game’s top scorers. However, I, along with many others, have given him many chances in the postseason to prove that he’s a superstar, and he just hasn’t consistently stepped up to the plate.

In the comments below, feel free to offer your own opinion on if Damian Lillard is still underrated or not. Hit me up on my Twitter @stevenpepper38 and/or Instagram @stevenpepper_.