Game Thread GAME# 64: BLAZERS @ PISTONS - MARCH 6, 2016 - SUNDAY, 3:00 PM (PST), CSNNW & NBATV

Really curious to see if this is coaching or personnel.

Nearly every guard/wing everyone on our team is garbage at going around picks on defense. Dame still gets demolished at least 7-10 times every game. It has to wear on his body. He was improving on this and taking better angles, but last 5 games or so... he's back to running into walls.

If he actually gets around the pick with a reasonable angle, Terry's defense would kinda work better.

 

If you like gettin' swole, you'll work out because it's fun. But work ethic also involves practicing things you don't like, like proper help defense and positioning on the court.

 

With this being Stotts' 4th year at the helm, I would lean towards it being on his defensive scheme. We've have quite a few players come through here and all the bigs sag back on the pick and roll and I can't remember the last time I've seen a guard fight through screens on a regular basis (Might have been Henderson during the last Charlotte game).

I know we don't have any all-world defenders (AFA is our best, but still not elite), but I'm more concerned/frustrated with the lack of changes to the defense. If a team is destroying you time and time again with the same play, why not try something else on D?

 

We just have a team that's built to run and move the ball...we win when we run and tire out teams with our style of offense. If we get forced into playing a half court grind game, we'll probably lose more than win because we don't have bigger, slower rim protectors in the frontcourt. It's sort of pick your poison but for this young team to win, they have to run other teams out of the gym..they're not winning by defending in the half court...Plumlee rarely raised his arms against Drummond so Drummond could shoot over him all day long. Van Gundy was smart...got us to play his game which is not our game. You can't build a team both ways really...you commit to a running style or a grind style. Teams with grind it out centers that can score are tough matchups for us...we are also throwing a 20 year old Vonleh into the starting lineup and it's not because he's winning us games but because he's in training for the future. Against Detroit we would have probably had a better shot at winning starting Kaman but we're obviously developing Vonleh as a priority

 

Just add that it will be good for the team to get home, watch film and practice defensive team work. I get a sense after the first 3 road wins, the team sort of expected Lillard to score 50 every game. We went from 6-7 guys scoring in double digits and rebounding in double digits to 2 or 3 guys scoring double digits and not one of our bigs getting more than 7 rebounds the last few games. Adjustment...Stotts has proven he can adjust...he seems like a guy who uses film and practice to address weak links more than games...part of that is the fact that even over achieving this season..we have guys who are still learning to play together.

 

Great posts and points!!!