I'm guessing Lillard is being given the message to not look for his own in the open court ,or in early offense, or before the defense sets itself. I'm guess this because he's put the brakes on. It's transformed Lillard from one of the fastest rising stars in the NBA to pedestrian. I mention McMillain because of his tendency to deliver critical messages towards a player's strength. I was hoping that style would leave with McMillain. If Lillard is being given that message I understand the rationale. Look for teammates on the break to encourage them to run. Only Lillard isn't Steve Nash, and attacking before a defense is set was the most unstoppable weapon Lillard had in his arsenal. It might have been the most unstoppable weapon in the Blazer's arsenal. Could you imagine telling Tony Parker to not attack in the open floor? And now that he's put the brakes on, the Blazers aren't better on the break, there worse.

The Blazers were lucky on this road trip. They played a New York Knick team without, (god please don't strike me down with lightning for saying this) Raymond Felton. They played a Minnesota team without Zach Randolph. They played a Minnesota team without Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio. Even still they were able to hold off these teams down the stretch with surprisingly good team defense. What was missing was Lillard knocking teams out with daggers, except for the 3 in New York. And if Lillard doesn't do that the rest of the team reverts back to playing tight in high pressure situations. Unless Lilard can find his mojo again the Blazer losses will become more and more frequent.

Lillard's stats are still respectable, but his mojo seems somewhere else. He doesn't have to attack all the time, but when he picks his spots, he can be demoralizing for a team trying to play transition defense. This team can be every bit as good as Memphis in a year or two if they stick together, and they play to there strengths. That means Lillard attacking in the open court.