Terry Stotts has transformed Trail Blazers into elite defensive team

Crunch aside, they couldn't stop a subpar Heat team all night long. Shouldn't have come down to crunch. I hope you can see 'logic' in that.

Portland is supposed to be the contender. If they are as good as many believe they are, they should have won this going away. But Portland has struggled with games like this all year. And defense is a big reason for that.

 

Haslem was shooting threes ffs, they were all on fire, hard to stop that. I agree they're not an elite defensive team though, more like above average.

 

We were elite there for a few games when we had both Wes and Arron. I swear this franchise is snake bit.

 

I see that logic.

However, What can you do when they are hitting those 3's in the third with hands in their face and good D? That changed the whole game. That, and the free throws.

 

They couldn't get a stop even they tried. That was the entire second half. That doesn't fall on one guy. That falls on the team. To me that's not elite.

 

Well, thankfully you don't have the defining opinion, like I, to say what elite defense is.

 

Above average but not elite... Bummer they lost :-(

 

FWIW:

e·lite
əˈlēt,āˈlēt/
noun

1. 1.
   a select part of a group that is superior to the rest in terms of ability or qualities.

Im not an english major but it seems like by that definition only the best defensive team in the league could really say they are "elite". With that said I think we have a great defensive team and a defensive team that performs elite at times. We just need to take the next step and be superior consistently and I think we can do that if we set our minds to it.

 

Zach Lowe just pointed out that our new starting lineup with Afflalo is giving up 112 points per 100 possessions, which is really pitiful.

Low sample size, however.

 

Well the first half tonight didn't help. Miami & Orlando are bottom are both in the bottom 5 in the league in PPG, but lighting it up like they were Golden State.

 

No way in hell this team was or is an elite defensive squad.

 

Well, I kind of feel vindicated of all the "hate" I received for saying the same thing..

Above average yes, but not elite.

Anyways I don't want to beat a dead horse.

Wish they had won

 

Everyone likes saying their right when lose but when we play great and win (most of the time), those people creep away and wait for the next loss. We are absolutely an elite defensive team.

 

Now, I think "elite" is a stretch.

I guess like a lot of things people argue about, it depends somewhat on ones view of what the term being argued means.

 

You can prevent them from getting players into perfect position to make those 3s. Then you don't have to worry about getting a hand up in the face.

Free throws? You can design a defense that doesn't require fouling them.

I'm not saying I can design it, but an elite defense wouldn't have these constant problems. Our defense is very ordinary. It's our offense that is unusual.