Got my pairs in. Ordered a 9.5 and a 10. Kind of a long read so the TLDR version is this: Heel area is poorly designed. Too roomy. Hard to lockdown. 10 is too long for me when tied tight. 9.5 is good when tied tight, but cramped at the toe box, width wise. Go with your larger size for strictly casual use. I wouldn't go up a size at all. If you want to play ball in them, you have to try them on and even then you may end up returning or exchanging.
Here are my full thoughts:
I'm a 10 in Kobe V, VI, VIII
Under Armour CF Drive
Adidas Rose 1, 1.5, 2.5
9.5 in Zoom 2K4 (yeah way back), Adidas Rose 3, Jordan XX, Adidas Tubular
First off, I gotta say these are poorly designed at the heel. Hugely disappointing for how much they put into the campaign and this being Lillard's first shoe, especially with how well he has been playing since entering the league. Even if you don't have fit problems with them, they are poorly designed. Way too spacious back there, and no simple way to eliminate that issue. And the heel counter sits very low, maybe too low, and tying the laces doesn't do enough to push your foot back and really lock it in. I've already considered wearing a thick wristband around my ankle to try and fill that area out.
Chances are some of you guys have an Adidas Speedwrap. Putting that on helps, but again, it doesn't completely secure the foot back there and makes a ton of noise from the friction between the wrap and the shoe inner.
In terms of sizing, when I put on the 10, it feels TTS until I really tie them down. When my foot is pressed back into the heel, there is too much space up front so I would say they run slightly big for me. Wearing them loose though, they feel TTS.
WIth the 9.5, they didn't feel as snug as I thought they would, but my toes start to feel cramped. But when tied tight and with my foot pressed back into the heel, the length at the toe is perfect. I know if I play ball in these my toes will start to hurt after my feet swell and also from the pressure from cutting and lateral movements.
You guys should put some thought into what you plan to do with the shoes if you get them. If you are going to play ball, which I'm very reluctant to but will try anyways, and you go TTS, then you would probably be better off with double socks or some kind of ankle brace to fill the heel out. I'll most likely go with my smaller size and use them for light shoot arounds and when lifting upper body. If you're thinking strictly casual, TTS should be fine.
Side note for those who have the first Nike Hyperrev: These fit similar to them (not feel, but fit). I had the same exact length issue except for the heel slip. 10 was slightly too long with my heel locked in, 9.5 was a tad snug. I went with 10, but if I could do it over, I'd go with 9.5. Toe off is a bit inefficient in the 10, which is why I want to go with the 9.5 in the Lillards.
Finally, this begs the question, or questions, what the hell was Adidas doing with these? I have several questions (that we will probably never get answers to) and "conspiracy" theories:
1. Lillard is semi-masochistic and he likes to make things hard on himself. The game comes too easy to him so he wants an extra challenge. Solution: add some heel slip to his shoe.
2. Lillard has some kind of crazy ankle muscles, or he uses a roll of tape on each ankle before lacing up.
3. What was the wear testing process for this shoe, if any at all? I can't believe somebody didn't say something about this before they went into production.
4. Was this deliberately done, knowing people would go ham on Lillard's first sig. regardless of initial reviews so that they could "fix" the issue in the LIllard 1.5 / 2?
