NBA PM: Lillard Enters Season With Extra Motivation

Lillard Enters Season With Extra Motivation

After Washington Wizards point guard John Wall was cut from Team USA over the summer, the 24-year-old made headlines when he said that the slight would serve as extra motivation entering the 2014-15 season. Wall said that he was being “overlooked again” and added, “I guess have to prove myself one more time.”

Well, Wall wasn’t the only one who felt that way when his name was left off of the USA Basketball roster. Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard was one of the team’s last cuts prior to the FIBA World Cup in Spain, and he had a similar reaction.

Hearing that he didn’t make the team’s final roster prompted the 24-year-old Lillard to work even harder over the offseason and completely change his diet. Like Wall, Lillard is determined to prove himself this season and silence his doubters.

“My first thought when they told me that I didn’t make the team was, ‘They don’t think I’m good enough,’ or, ‘I’m not good enough,’” Lillard told NBA TV when asked about being cut from Team USA. “Any time that happens, you just have to go back to the drawing board and get back into the gym. I made some changes. I just made sure that I got a lot more rest. I changed my diet up. I started to be smarter with my workouts. I started to focus on certain things, like getting my legs stronger and getting my core stronger, to be prepared for a longer season because I kind of wore down late in the playoffs. It just made me hungrier and reminded me that I still have something to prove.”

Lillard’s diet change could really help him, because he went from eating whatever he wanted (like many young men do) to having a very strict meal plan that’s designed to make him feel much better throughout the course of the season.

“At first, I knew that I worked out a lot so I was just like, ‘Alright, I’m gonna get it in, I can eat whatever I want,’” Lillard said with a smile. “I would go to Benihana. I would go to Wingstop. I would eat pretty much whatever I felt like eating at any time. Now, it’s much more strict. No salt, not much sugar – just what’s in the fruit – you know, beans, corn, baked chicken, tilapia, fish, the simple stuff. It’s really strict. Everything is laid out, I’ve got meal plans so I’m not getting hungry and don’t end up going to McDonald’s or something like that. Everything is more focused and I know what I’m going home to eat and what time I’m eating it.”

Young players often break out in their third season (which Lillard is about to enter) because they start to realize the things they need to do in order to be great. The NBA’s top players are obviously extremely talented, but what often separates them from the pack is their willingness to do everything they can to give them an edge over their peers. The elite players are often the ones who work the hardest, sacrifice the most and make significant life changes that will help them play to their full potential.

By doing things like changing his diet and getting more rest, Lillard seems to understand what it takes to elevate his game to the level and he’s doing everything in his power to make that leap.

Lillard appreciates the opportunity that USA Basketball gave him, and he believes that competing against top guards like Derrick Rose, Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving and James Harden was a fantastic experience that he took a lot away from. But that doesn’t mean he was okay with being cut.

”Definitely, [it will motivate me],” Lillard said. “The best part was just being able to compete against top players every day. You don’t get that opportunity a lot of times, so I was thankful for that. … That was the best thing that I could take away from it. You usually don’t get to play against D-Rose, Steph, Kyrie and James Harden every day, but that’s the opportunity I got and I think I got a lot better from it.

“But I also felt like it was them telling me that I wasn’t good enough. I’ve always been one to throw wood on the fire anytime that I got the opportunity and once I was turned away from making the team, I basically took it as, ‘You’re not good enough.’ That was just another reason for me to go back to work and keep trying to improve as a player.”

Last season, Lillard had an incredible sophomore campaign, earning his first All-Star appearance, first All-NBA nod and first playoff berth. He averaged 20.7 points, 5.6 assists and 3.5 rebounds in the regular season, and further elevated his game in the postseason, averaging 22.9 points, 6.5 assists, 5.1 rebounds and a steal. Not to mention, Lillard hit the series-winning three to defeat the Houston Rockets in the first round, which will be played in NBA highlight reels for years to come.

Lillard has been exceptional since entering the NBA two years ago and he has all of the tools to be a superstar. He can score from anywhere on the court. He is one of the most clutch players in the league. He makes his teammates better, as an elite floor general should. He thrives in the pick-and-roll as well as isolation.

At the end of the day, being cut from Team USA may actually have been the best thing that could’ve happened to Lillard, as it pushed him to get back into the gym and significantly alter his diet so that he could play his absolute best this season.

Lillard has already proven that he’s one of the game’s best point guards, but he’s only been in the NBA for two years so his best basketball is almost certainly ahead of him. That’s a scary thought for the rest of the league, especially considering Lillard spent this summer pouring fuel on his fire.

New-Look Cavaliers Starting to Jell

It’s obviously going to take time for the Cleveland Cavaliers to get everyone on the same page. That’s a given when a team adds two new focal points (LeBron James and Kevin Love) as well as a new head coach (David Blatt) and many new role players to their supporting cast (Shawn Marion, Mike Miller, Brendan Haywood, James Jones, etc.).

There’s no disputing that Cleveland is stacked on paper. But that doesn’t guarantee a title, just ask the 2010-11 Miami HEAT or the 2012-13 Los Angeles Lakers.

With that said, this team could be the best team in the NBA if all of their pieces come together. They could also be a perennial contender for years to come, since James is in his prime while Irving (22 years old), Love (26), Tristan Thompson (23) and Dion Waiters (22) should only continue to get better.

For now, the Cavs are just trying to jell and get through this adjustment period. They recently played their first preseason game against Blatt’s former team – Maccabi Tel Aviv – and won, 107-80. There were certainly positives to take away from the game, but all of the Cavs said that they still have a lot of work to do.

“We were looking forward to getting on the floor together for the first time,” Love said. “Guys, 1-15, are going to get a chance to play here in the preseason. We’re going to have to clean some stuff up, some of the rust, and just continue to keep growing. It’s a process, like anything else. But we know we’re talented and we just all have to get on the same page and we plan on doing that. … We were happy to be out on the floor. We were happy to finally put on that jersey in front of the home crowd. There was a lot of things we have to clean up, but we’ll go over film. We mention all along, every day is a chance to get better. It’s going to be a long haul for us, but we’ll be okay.”

“Honestly, I wanted to see us play against someone other than ourselves,” Blatt said. “We’ve been going at it for eight days and guys are a little tired of beating each other up and facing guys that are on the same side. I wanted to see how we would react and respond to playing in a game where there was a real opponent on the other side. I had hoped that we would share the ball. We did. I had hoped that we rebound the ball well. We did. I wanted to see us defend better in the first half. We didn’t but we did make very significant adjustments at halftime and recognized where the problem was. We addressed it, we came out, we executed and we obviously played much, much better defense in the second half.”

“It’s still a work in progress,” James said. “We still haven’t put in everything defensively. But I think for the most part, for 48 minutes, we played the type of basketball we want to play. We moved the ball, we shared the ball, guys got open looks, defensively we tried to cover for one another… It’s a good start.”

One thing that is becoming clear is that the Cavs are a very unselfish team, with a lot of playmakers who look to make the right play and do what’s best for the team. As the San Antonio Spurs have showed, ball movement is crucial in the NBA and it seems the Cavaliers will be excellent at spreading the ball around.

“When you have unselfish guys, it’s going to automatically translate to everybody,” James said. “Myself and K-Love and Kyrie are natural passers and so many other guys, it just trickles down to everybody else. You’ll pass up a good shot for a great shot and that’s what we can get because we have so many guys that can put the ball on the ground, so many guys that can attract double-teams or just multiple eyes.”

“It’s great [to play with James],” Love said. “He’s a great player, distributes the ball well. He does many things out there on the floor, scores for us when he needs to and he’s already been here so we’re looking to him and several other players to be out there and make plays. We know what he’s capable of, but we all have to step up and help the team in any way that we can.”

Rebounding should also be a strength for Cleveland. Love is obviously one of the best rebounders the league has seen in years, and Thompson and Anderson Varejao will help on the glass as well. In the first preseason game, the trio combined for 39 rebounds.

“I think we can be a great rebounding team,” Love said. “You saw it tonight. We kept a lot of plays alive. Tristan and Andy did a spectacular job on both defensive and offensive rebounds. It’s something that we’ll definitely pride ourselves on and that’s going to help us on both ends of the floor for many different situations. I’ve played against those guys in the past and they’re tough guys to go against.”

James received an amazing ovation from the home fans, and he’s enjoying being back in Cleveland.

“It feels great,” James said. “It’s going to feel great for a long time. For me to run back on the floor with these fans and my new teammates, I’m excited. It’s great to always leave victorious, it doesn’t matter if it’s preseason or not.”

All eyes will be on the Cavaliers throughout this season, to see if they can reach their full potential.