The series between the Trail Blazers and the Thunder has ended, but Lillard's long-range winning three-pointer against Paul George has been talked about by fans. 5 points and a super long-range three-pointer made Lillard a hero again, and also reduced the current triple-double king and general George to the background. It even made Westbrook's trash talk "I've been suppressing you (Lillard) for all these years! All these years" become a laughing stock.
When the two sides are tied at 115, the normal offensive choice will be to suppress the time, and then rush into the inside for a strong attack, either scoring 2 points or causing a foul. But Lillard did the opposite and chose to step back and shoot a three-pointer 11 meters away from the basket in the face of Paul George's defense. According to common sense, Lillard's choice is absolutely unreasonable. If he is included, he will be the hero of the team. If not, he may be scolded by many fans.
So what makes Lillard dare to take a three-pointer from 11 meters (37 feet)? Through the data, we know Lillard's capital for shooting this three-pointer. According to statistics, this season, league players' total three-point shooting percentage within the 30-40 feet range is only 25.9%, while Lillard's total shooting rate is 20 of 51, with a shooting percentage of 39%. This is probably Lillard's capital and the reason why he dares to shoot a long three-pointer against George.
Lillard also said: My trainer previously suggested that I practice a few such long shots. He told me: You will definitely score one or two such goals. After scoring the goal, we can say that it was Lillard's good luck, but the data does not lie, and the data does not say luck. Through the data, we found that this is Lillard's strength. Because throughout the series, Lillard took a total of 12 shots from 30 feet, hitting 8 of them, with a shooting rate of 66.7%.
Lillard averaged 39.8 minutes per game, scoring 33 points, currently the league's first, and also had 4.4 rebounds, 6 assists and 2.4 steals. It is worth mentioning that he averaged 5.2 three-pointers per game, ranking first in the league with a field goal percentage of 48.1%. G5's buzzer beater is a good proof: George's defense has reached its peak, but Lillard can still hit this outrageous LOGO step-back buzzer beater. And his 50 points in a single playoff game is also a new record in the Blazers' team history.