"Having won six of their last 10 games, the Blazers are a confident and balanced bunch, and they've become that way via defense. Portland ranks eighth in the league in points allowed and opponents' field-goal percentage. For all of their offensive talent, the Blazers' strength shines when opponents have the ball, which is telling for a young group and a sure sign that they can win in the postseason." Interesting stat since so many of the fans believe our D sucks. Now I am not saying it is great, just that it is better than people think. You can argue with points allowed but not opponents field goal percentage. We do give up too many open 3's. but it's often due to us helping out in the lane.
As a unit I think our defense is solid. The statistics support that. I do think, however, that there are a select few players that are responsible for playing pretty bad to mediocre defense when they are on the floor. Most obvious is Sergio. He alone sometimes gets post players in foul trouble because he can't keep another guard in-front of him. I would imagine if Portland had a veteran PG that could distribute effectively and play solid defense, Portland would have even better Defensive statistics than they do right now. Come playoff time Bayless will have to perform on the defensive side if Portland wants to win games. It certainly doesn't look like Sergio can defend anyone physical, especially in the postseason when Blake isn't exactly a physical specimen, either. Hopefully Bayless becomes that bench defensive force within a month. He's closer than Sergio and Blake ATM.
Probably because it's not correct. The opponents points allowed is right, as we're tied for eighth in the NBA with Orlando. But in terms of opponents' field goal percentage, we're tied for 20th with Phoenix (46.26 percent). http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/stati...009&seasontype=2&avg=pg&order=false&split=999
