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Following his second quick exit from the first round of the playoffs, once again in sweep fashion, Damian Lillard was open to suggestions as to how to reach the next level as an NBA player. The Portland Trail Blazers had been swept by the eventual champion Golden State Warriors in 2017 and then by the lower-seeded New Orleans Pelicans in 2018, leaving an air of pestilence for the team's playoff hopes.
Lillard approached his longtime trainer Phil Beckner for suggestions, as the latter pointed to extending his range so that a 30-foot shot would feel as natural as one taken just behind the arc.
That's Stephen Curry range. Sure, but that would soon become Logo Lillard range after some hard offseason work.
Article Continues Below“Guys like Steph, you have to worry about guarding when they take one step over the half-court line,” Beckner said, according to Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo Sports. “When you do that, it’s another weapon that makes everything else easier. It opens up everything spacing- and pick-and-roll-wise.”
Beckner would then get started with some shooting drills, including taping an extended 3-point line about four feet behind the NBA standard.
“Extending his range was the biggest thing we worked on all offseason and throughout the season,” Beckner said. “The amount he works at it is almost sickening. He’s a lunatic.”
Only three players made 20 or more 3-pointers beyond 30-feet, Lillard was the most effective of them, burying 37% of his way-downtown attempts.
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The real reward came in the playoffs, as Lillard canned all five of his shot attempts beyond 30 feet, including a clutch game-winner in Game 5 to give him an iconic 50-point performance to eliminate the Oklahoma City Thunder in grand fashion.
