Covington, who is in his eighth season, said “we watch a lot of film” and that Stotts is “constantly harping.” Covington also pointed to a lack of practice time as a reason why the team is not sharp defensively.
“The games come around too quick,” Covington said. “So we don’t really have time to practice some things.”
Of course, it’s the same for every NBA team, and there is only one team worse than Portland. Interestingly, Covington and Lillard have different takes on the value of the defensive metrics.
“Them just defensive ratings, man,” Covington said. “We can’t keep getting involved with numbers, we just have to go out and play. If we get caught up in that, then you kind of take the game of basketball away.”
Lillard, however, sound as if he holds the stats in higher regard.
“I think when you look at our rating, our ranking defensively, that number never lies,” Lillard said. “But I think if you are somebody watching the game, I think it’s pretty self-explanatory that it’s not our effort or how much attention we are paying to it. I think it’s just a matter of us being able to sustain certain levels of that defensive intensity and focus, and communication.”
