Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images
Everyone noticed that Damian Lillard was struggling in April, as he was not scoring at the usual clip the point guard for the Portland Trail Blazers enjoys. And thanks to Phil Beckner, his longtime trainer and former assistant coach at Weber State, Lillard knew it and bounced back, reports Jason Quick of the Athletic.
“He was sending me (film clips) game after game, and each game was labeled NGE,” Lillard said. “Not good enough … not good enough … not good enough.”
Said Beckner: “He’s strong enough and secure enough to let me challenge him.”
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For Damian Lillard, Dame Time with Portland Trail Blazers comes from within
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Lillard s double-double leads Blazers past Thunder (1:48)
Despite compiling four early fouls, Damian Lillard comes up clutch in the fourth as he snuffs out the Thunder comeback rally and finishes with 31 points and 10 assists in a Trail Blazers win. (1:48)
OKLAHOMA CITY With 5 minutes, 28 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Damian Lillard hit two hard dribbles with his left hand, putting his man on his hip and squaring up the help defender, Al Horford.
It was a one-point game, the Oklahoma City Thunder leading, and as Lillard does, he hit the eject button to rise and fire in Horford s face, the kind of shot the Dame Time mythology is built on.