Damian Lillard’s record as a visiting player in Portland is winless following Wednesday’s victory over the Milwaukee Bucks by a score of 119-116. Meanwhile, the new coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, Doc Rivers, has not yet picked up a single victory in his time as head coach.
Even though Lillard had yet another terrible shooting night (9/23 overall, 3/13 from beyond the arc), he had the potential to make apologies in the waning seconds of the game with a shot that could have been a perfect game-winning shot. Lillard was introduced to a lengthy and thunderous standing ovation before scoring 25 points.
The aims of Malcolm Brogdon, on the other hand, were different.
When there were 17.6 seconds left on the clock, Lillard dispersed the ball to the side, causing the Bucks to fall behind by one point. During the time that Lillard was swinging hard to his left, he found himself in a one-on-one situation with Deandre Ayton on the switch. It was obvious that the intention was for him to get the ball quickly after a handoff.
The drafting was done with great care. After Lillard had dribbled into Ayton’s body, he regained possession of the ball and sprung back into what appeared to be an open three-point shot, which had the potential to end the game. Brogdon, on the other hand, made the shrewd choice to leave Brook Lopez alone and hurry over to the floor to steal the ball from Lillard. It was the first of two outstanding defensive plays that Brogdon made on the possession that changed the game over.
Even though Lillard is a better shooter, you should always go with Lopez because he is a solid shooter and made two long 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. Lopez is the player you should choose. When Toumani Camara flies at Lopez, he does so to force Lopez into a pump fake and escape dribble strategy.
It seems for a brief moment like Brogdon is going to get Lopez as he stands up, leaving Lillard unprotected. However, this just lasts for a split second. Lopez may have the opportunity to send the ball back to Lillard at the very last second to give him the open shot if he can keep his calm.
Regardless of the circumstances, Brogdon possesses a degree of intelligence that is superior to his level of idiocy. Because his move toward Lopez was only a stunt, there was no chance for him to make a clean pass to Lillard. Instead, he quickly spun around to face Lillard immediately after making his move. Lopez has no choice but to make a 30-footer while Brogdon does a stunt in his peripheral vision, which further distracts him from the game.
Once again, Brogdon has produced work of extraordinary quality. After the initial dash across the court to force Lillard to pass and leave him unattended, it would have been simple to relax and take it easy, but that was not the case. At precisely the moment that the quarterback is beginning to believe that he will have a receiver who is open, Brogdon returns to coverage and blocks the route of the passing game. How a linebacker imitates a blitz at the line of scrimmage is comparable to this phenomenon.
Post Source: gamerant.com
