Blazers Defensive Improvement (SI)

[Reep]

Portland Trail Blazers (8-3)

2014 defense: No. 16 | 2015 defense: No. 10

The Blazers did well defending the basket area and the three-point line last season, but those successes came with the strategic compromise of conceding lots of open mid-range looks. As the season wore on, Portland’s defense proved solvable to opponents, in part because the Blazers’ decrepit bench placed an undue burden on a well-balanced starting five.

​That well-told story is being rewritten. For one, Portland’s starters are carrying a lighter load thanks to the offseason additions of center Chris Kaman and point guard Steve Blake and regular minutes for second-year guard CJ McCollum. For two, Portland’s bench has more than held its own during its expanded time.
Kaman, a 32-year-old 7-footer, has been key. Known primarily as an offensive player with nifty footwork and reliable mid-range shooting, Kaman has proved to be a vast upgrade defensively over last year’s backup center options, which included the undersized Joel Freeland and the raw Meyers Leonard. Now, coach Terry Stotts is free to keep two traditional big men on the court whenever he wants, as Freeland can slide to the four spot, Leonard can be used more as a stretch option and Thomas Robinson can be saved for situations that require a jolt of energy.

All that height, and continued progress from Lopez, has Portland ranked No. 1 in opponent field goal percentage within five feet. The Blazers’ team defense appears to reflect a newfound trust factor in its bigs: Fewer concessions are being made, even though Stotts has had to juggle lineups with the recent absences of small forward Nicolas Batum and All-Star power forward LaMarcus Aldridge. Although Portland, like Houston, will still win first and foremost with its well-oiled offensive attack, the defense is finally approaching the point where blue-chip title contenders will need to take it seriously. The Blazers are on track to be a major player in the loaded West all season, even if their record (8-3) is padded slightly by a home-heavy schedule.

http://www.si.com/nba/2014/11/18/nb...icans-anthony-davis?page=2&devicetype=default

 

[magnifier661]

http://www.si.com/nba/2014/11/18/nb...icans-anthony-davis?page=2&devicetype=default

Roytoy will argue that this is meaningless because they suck

 

[Wizard Mentor]

Honestly, I wonder if we really are better defensively. Halfway through the season we were well into the 20s defensively. Surging in the 2nd half of the season resulted in 16th best at the end. So, we were top 10 in the last half of last year?!?

We are certainly more resilient to injury than last year...

 

[magnifier661]

Honestly, I wonder if we really are better defensively. Halfway through the season we were well into the 20s defensively. Surging in the 2nd half of the season resulted in 16th best at the end. So, we were top 10 in the last half of last year?!?

We are certainly more resilient to injury than last year...

I think we are because offense throughout the league is. Being a top 10 defense means so much more than last season imo. Also, it seems our communication on the defense is much better without relying on our starters to carry the defensive load.

Our bench is either maintaining or improving on our leads mainly because our defense.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

Honestly, I wonder if we really are better defensively. Halfway through the season we were well into the 20s defensively. Surging in the 2nd half of the season resulted in 16th best at the end. So, we were top 10 in the last half of last year?!?

We are certainly more resilient to injury than last year...

Yeah I think it's showing the defense we had post-ASG is continuing. And then adding Kaman makes the time when the bench is in much less nerve wracking.

 

[Boise Blazer]

Honestly, I wonder if we really are better defensively. Halfway through the season we were well into the 20s defensively. Surging in the 2nd half of the season resulted in 16th best at the end. So, we were top 10 in the last half of last year?!?

We are certainly more resilient to injury than last year...

http://stats.nba.com/league/team/#!/advanced/?Season=2013-14&SeasonSegment=Post All-Star

Post all-star we were 10th at 103.0

 

[Wizard Mentor]

Exactly.
Last Year: #$%#$%, our starters are sucking tonight, we lose.
This Year: Our starters are sucking tonight, maybe our bench will pick it up.

Yeah I think it's showing the defense we had post-ASG is continuing. And then adding Kaman makes the time when the bench is in much less nerve wracking.

 

[blue9]

This is 90% Blake and Kaman being vastly superior to Mo and Freeland.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

This is 90% Blake and Kaman being vastly superior to Mo and Freeland.

Totally agree. Our defense is as good as late last year, but our bench offense is also not horrible now.

 

[magnifier661]

This is 90% Blake and Kaman being vastly superior to Mo and Freeland.

100% agree, plus the added offense allows us to keep teams at bay as well

 

[Blazer4ever]

It's also CJ and Crabbe being good defenders and improving chemistry and understanding as a team defense.
It's also Wesley raising his defense another level. It's, as written in the OP, being able to use Freeland (who was injured for a big part of last year) and having him teamed up with another smart and savvy inside defender in Kaman.
It's more rest for the starters.
And as I said the X-factor here is Lillard and Aldridge's defense, which is improving. Lillard has made a huge improvement as far as to become a decent defender and Aldridge at least shows more focus and engagement and he is already improved and will continue to do so.
I predict that like last year, our defense will progress as the year goes on and we will further improve our rankings by the end of the regular season.

 

[Natebishop3]

By Ben golliver?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Draco]

Blake and Kaman have been awesome additions, exactly what we needed. I think the stability of the team has been key as well; 13 returning players with familiarity and continuity. Multiple young players have stepped up when needed.

I still laugh thinking about how ESPN ranked our offseason as one of the 3 worst in the league even behind the Heat.

 

[magnifier661]

Didn't Mike Rice say we are top 5 in all the defensive categories? Is that true?