For several years I've been pulling my hair out watching the way this team constantly switched the pick and roll, frequently leaving small guards isolated on an opposing 4 or 5 and I could never quite figure out just what the hell he was doing, but since the acquisition of Camby and the reinsertion of Nic into the lineup it's all starting to make a lot more sense and look a helluva lot more effective ... basically, it all boils down to certain types of personnel being employed, and it looks like shit if you don't have those types of players, but between our starting 3, 4 and 5 all able to cover a lot of ground, move their feet and guard more than one position I'm warming up to what I've seen in the second half of this season. I have to say I've got a newfound appreciation and even admiration for what 3 active, long, defenders in the front court can give this team. Frankly it makes me want to see Oden slim down to about 260 so he can get in on the fun (well, for more than just this reason).
Good post. The Blazers have done a very good job on D for the last couple of months. We've got length and speed on the perimeter and a mobile shot-blocker in the middle.
Yeah, it is more effective when we have the Nic & Camby in the game. That said, being that Nate played the same D for years without them, I hesitate to give him any credit.
LMA has always been good at defending guards on the switch and it's one of the reasons he doesn't get as many rebounds.
I find myself in the same boat, albeit with the caveat that most coaches in any sport are no better than the athletes at their disposal. As this team improves defensively, it seems to come from recent player acquisitions, rather than the holdovers who continue to be somewhat flawed.
To a certain extent thats true. But coaching does matter. The fact that Nate hasn't changed his defensive gameplan despite having significantly different players leads me to believe that not all is being done that could be in terms of coaching.
