Maybe making a significant change in defensive schemes and incorporating two new starters requires something the Blazers haven’t had much of until now: practice time. Quick’s article this morning in The Athletic touched on this:
“That said, I think Lillard last week after the Atlanta game made a telling observation: The Blazers are using a different defensive scheme this season, one where the centers play up on the pick-and-roll, which theoretically forces the ball out of the guard’s hands quicker. This style requires the weakside defenders — the defenders away from the ball — to offer help, thereby setting into action a series of rotations by defenders to cover for the teammate who left their man. That weakside help, Lillard said, is where the team is struggling. He used the word “trust” — as in you have to trust your teammate is going to cover your man if you leave to offer help — and right now, the players haven’t shown often enough that they will make that extra rotation or move to help, which has prevented trust from developing.
They have shown at times they can play pretty good defense — the second half against Atlanta (40 points), the first game against Sacramento (99 points), the win at the Lakers (Anthony Davis 13 points) — but it hasn’t been consistent.”
Here’s hoping almost a week of practice will make the defense more consistent.
For those who don’t subscribe, there’s also some good stuff on why the Blazers aren’t giving up on Simons and how the opportunity he’s getting now will be important as the team looks to figure out his future with the Blazers going forward.
