I’m digging this new thing where NBA players tie their headbands in the back like they just stepped out of the Mortal Kombat series or Dragonball Z or something. What better way to intimidate your defender than to have your headwear be vaguely reminiscent of, like, an ancient Japanese warrior wielding a katana made of steel folded a thousand times? I wouldn’t want to defend somebody who looked like that. If I matched up with them in pick-up I would start calling for a switch or just walk off the court entirely, never to return.
Damion Lee summoned the ancestral power of ancient Japanese warriors to score thirteen points, thereby providing roughly half of what Stephen Curry’s expected output would be, were he to play. The crazy thing is, Lee played roughly half of Curry’s expected minutes, so, if given Curry’s full allotment of minutes, he would have put up (roughly) a Curry-esque statline. That’s assuming that Lee wouldn’t get tired and sloppy with the extra minutes. Sometimes these end-of-bench guys get put in the game and immediately go all out, leaving them unable to withstand additional minutes even if they’re playing well (see Thon Maker, who is dripping with sweat almost before he steps on the court).
True DTB connoisseurs will know that Lee is very capable of these types of performances. Bandwagon Warriors fans, who I never tire of antagonizing, might be surprised, but those plebs are surprised by anybody on the Warriors whose name isn’t Curry, Durant, or Thompson.