Shorthanded Trail Blazers Still Searching for Answers with an Adapting Defense | Road Trip Preview
They used to press at historic rates. Now they’re becoming one of the most zone heavy teams in the league. There’s something noble about trying different approaches. But Portland’s once intimidating defense has slipped after early season success and a rash of injuries. Plus, a daunting road trip could see the losing streak reach six or seven.
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16 Comments
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I don’t have the data but anecdotally it seemed like there was a stretch where once they played Miami and beyond, teams were savvy to the press and starting breaking it down easily (notably after the injuries to Matisse and Wesley.) Teams were whipping quick passes to center court then to the rim getting layups and dunks . I wonder if the Blazers stopped pressing partly because of that, and I wonder how much of the reason why had to do with injuries or just not pressing particularly well anymore.
Pretty simple, injuries
Watching those past 9 or so minutes vs the Bulls, the Blazer's went back to the same defensive schemes from last season where they were able to switch everything in the 1/2 court and they did not overextend or take risks which has led to them playing on their heals and getting beat off the dribble.
That last 9 minutes vs the Bulls with no zone and the traditional 1/2 court pressure was what put them as a top 5 defense for 40 games last season.
It also utilizes Clingan's skillset far more effectively as the Blazer's funnel action towards the middle.
Yes, you give up more 3 point attempts, but it's the scheme that worked very well last season.
Hey, if they aren’t going to play Rupert, can they at least get him reps in the G league?
You only have so much energy to expend in each game. All the coaching and encouragement can't change that fact. If we had a deep bench of very good players, you can run short shifts so everybody can play on both sides of the floor. But right now, we have neither. So of course they have to go to plan B. The offensive flow is still really up and down which means they are not going to run away from anybody because they have scoring droughts at least once per game. Camara has been subpar on offense so far and Clingan is still trying to figure out ways to score. So you only have 3 out of 5 starters you can rely on. With Jrue out, that is compounded with Murray another non-scorer. Go Blazers.
Chicago missed 9 straight shots in that 4th quarter. The Blazers shut down the bunny lanes, played hustle ball, grabbed all the rebounds. Portland's connectivity was fun to watch. We'll just say… Vucevic hit a lucky shot..
Mike. I just wanted to say thank you for what you do here, for those of us daily listening.
Thank you for asking great questions at the pressers. I always listen to the pre and post game interviews and you always ask thought provoking questions.
Just wanted to say thank you for what you do. Not sure you get enough flowers for doing this day in day out.
Is there any world in which Chauncey was a significant factor in out defense being better early on ? I realize personnel is a big factor for sure.
Missing our top 6 guards (including Dame) against the bulls and still nearly winning says a lot about the potential of this team
get rid of the headcoach. problem solved
Someday the Blazers are going to be good enough that Mike is invited to the Zach Lowe Show to talk about the Blazers. And that is going to be my superbowl.
Sharp is the reason for the negative record they have . He does nothing good . Is he a defender? No worst on the team , is he a good rebounder? Nope , is he a great passer ? Absolutely not . Shooting? Hell no bad shooting most of the games . Given he does nothing good despite that he can take 30 shoots in a game , completely outside the flow of the game , deflating all other players that dont touch the ball , as result not engaging in defense. Most of his missed resulting fast breaks on the other side , making great defensive players like Camara irrelevant. Making players like Donovant doing nothing. Any game he doesn’t play will be net positive for the team . Two games he doesn’t play Donovan is absolute beast 20 and 10 because ball is moving on offense. Not sure about the zone I understood he is saying they play more zone because they don’t have enough bodies to play men to men defense because of injuries.
Wait, Splitter adjusted the plan to win a basketball game?
Chauncey would never.
NEED Back-to-Back ♡L0VE♡
Deni should rest today v. OKC, this intensity is too much even for him and we need Deni for the Cup-Spurs. Since we have back to back on Monday with the Bucks while Giannis and Kevin Porter aren't going to play, we can win it and Deni will be needed at his best. Bench him today with OKC to allow him full turbo mode for Bucks and Spurs (and then 4 days rest).