Portland Trail Blazers: 5 goals for Damian Lillard in 2017-18

3. Improve defensively

Damian Lillard is a supreme offensive talent, but he has his struggles on the defensive end. His 3.14 Real Plus-Minus in 2016-17 put him seventh among point guards. However, that number was brought down by his -1.49 Defensive Real Plus-Minus, 62nd out of 81 point guards.

According to Basketball-Reference, Lillard conceded 113 points per 100 possessions in 2016-17. Additionally, he only accumulated 1.5 defensive win shares over his 2,694 minutes on the court.

Defense was a team-wide struggle for the Blazers. According to NBA.com, the team gave up the eighth-most points per 100 possessions. Lillard has a particularly tall task, having to take on elite players from the league’s deepest position.

Nurkic’s presence changed the way the Blazers defend, which should help things this season. However, there may be aspects Lillard himself can work on to keep his defensive assignments at bay.

It would be unrealistic to expect Lillard to become a lockdown defender overnight. However, improving on defense is a step in the right direction. Much like maintaining his assists, the star point guard getting better defensively is good not just for him, but for the Trail Blazers as a whole.