I think it's a lazy approach when it's done half ass like Portland has. If you zone, then fucking commit and take away any lanes to the bucket. I've always been a fan of the "Swarming doubles". When the team will double anyone that has the ball; then get back to their man and swarm the next ball handler. It forces a lot of turn overs and really disrupts their offensive flow. Usually you force their PF/C to make plays, instead of the wings.
I'm just tired of OUR D since it sucks so bad, maybe a new D coach is warranted as I have suggested before.
My least favorite thing about them playing zone is having to see the middle guy act like a ballerina so he doesn't get a defensive 3 second technical.
Yes, we need a shot blocker. Most importantly we need a defensive unit working effectively with each other.
I hate zone.... I think there has been only one team that was able to use zone effectively and that was the Dallas Mavericks.
Tyson, Chandler. Was the key to their defensive success. Without him, kinda like the Blazers now, all you have is a team thats fun to watch on offense.
Without zone, just imagine how bad this team might be without any real defensive presence coming from the 4 and 5 spots. I'm not trying to suggest that Aldridge is a bad defender, but really he's not much more than average. Until/unless they can get more of a space eating force in the middle to pair with LaMarcus and until/unless Damian gets better in man-to-man schemes I think they're going to have to rely on zone D quite a bit.
Me too, but the problem is it takes ultra-effort and intensity, maximum hustle sustained over a game, things that NBA players don't give out too often unless they have a lot of pride in their team.