Bucks Zone

Adrian Griffin remembers the days when he used to gameplan for Damian Lillard

Damian Lillard is one tough player to cover.

Jonas Panerio

© Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
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Damian Lillard may not be larger-than-life in size, but his shiftiness and scoring ability make him a defender’s nightmare. His latest feat of scoring greatness—joining the NBA’s 20,000-point club—is a testament to that. Adrian Griffin, the Milwaukee Bucks coach and former NBA player, remembers his days as an assistant coach whose task was to help gameplan for Lillard’s unique brand of basketball.

Pick your poison

Griffin is used to watching Lillard play. After spending years as an assistant coach in Toronto, Orlando, Oklahoma City, and Chicago, he’s gotten used to racking his brain trying to find a way to contain the former Portland Trail Blazers star. Now, he’s glad he doesn’t have to do that anymore.

“Depending on your coverages, if you put two on the ball, then he’s a willing passer. Just through that, he can stretch the floor and shoot ‘em deep, you gotta adjust. Then he has the quickness and the physicality to kind of turn the corner. He just puts a lot of pressure on the defense. I’ve tried many times in the past where I’ve had to scout Portland, and you just gotta run bodies at him. That’s just the only way,” Griffin shared.

Premier scorer

A three-level scorer, Damian is one of the premier bucket-getters in the NBA, and Griffin is glad he’s on his team now.

“Obviously, he can shoot the ball, he can stretch the floor, he just puts a lot of pressure on your defense,” Griffin said.

“If you bring your bigs up, he can drive around them. He’s strong enough and physical enough to finish at the rim. He just has no weaknesses on the offensive end. He has the midrange. He can shoot it from deep.”

Milestone unlocked: Damian Lillard joins elite list of 20,000-point scorers

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Jonas Panerio
JONAS PANERIO