Damian Lillard won his second straight 3-point contest on Saturday. He scored 26 points en route to the achievement.
During his news conference after the victory, Lillard admitted that he put no preparation into his success.
“I didn’t prepare at all. I think that’s the key to it,” Lillard said. “…The first two times I did it, I was practicing, I had racks, I was doing all this stuff, and I went out there, and I didn’t win. Last year, I went in there, I never practiced, I never shot off a rack, I didn’t do nothing. I just showed up and won. So, this year, I was telling them, ‘you’re just trying too hard. You’re doing all this practicing; you’re talking about it a lot. Just show up and just shoot. I think that’s what’s going to be best…I didn’t practice at all.”
Lillard’s win is a much-needed reprieve from a difficult start to his tenure with the Milwaukee Bucks. The star guard forced his way out of the Portland Trail Blazers in search of contending for a championship.
However, Milwaukee has emerged as a dysfunctional contender this season. They fired Adrian Griffin midway through his first season as head coach. Doc Rivers has yet to find a winning formula.
A significant part of the Bucks’ struggles are based around Lillard’s limitations on the defensive end. Milwaukee is searching for a system that gets the best out of him on offense and limits his downside on defense. The pairing with Giannis Antetokounmpo is also still a work in progress.
Interestingly, Lillard has been underperforming from the perimeter this season. He’s shooting 34.1 percent from deep. Bucks fans will undoubtedly be encouraged by his 3-point contest win and should see it as proof that he’s still an elite scorer on the perimeter.
The All-Star break will provide Lillard and Giannis with a reprieve from Milwaukee’s struggles. But that reprieve will be short-lived.
Once the season gets back underway, Lillard must help Milwaukee get back on track. A 3-point contest victory is great, but it’s unlikely he wants to view that as the high point of his season.
