Defensive stop needed at end of game/quarters?

I'm just wondering why Lillard and CJ are in the game at the end of quarters/game when the other team has the ball and we need a stop? I know they're the 2 best offensive players, but they're also 2 of the worst defensive players along with Leonard. So I've been wondering why the last 2 seasons we see them in the game when we need 1 defensive stop to win or go to OT?

It seems like we could put in a lineup of Evan Turner, Crabb, Harkless, Aminu and Ed Davis/Plumlee and they'd have good matchups everywhere with good length and everybody could switch. But we keep putting in lillard and cj who are both short and don't have the length to switch if needed.

 

This is a great point. Bledsoe doesn't hit that shot if he has a taller defender on him.

 

That was my first thought to as I paused the replay and yes.. Dame was playing good D... for his size. But he just didnt have the length to get his hand high enough to get in the vision of that TJ dude.
I was instantly thinking to myself, does that go in if Hark or Aminu was on him?

 

again, I think the reason it's tough to get stops at the end of qtrs. is mostly because we're playing from behind all the time...if better defenders start the qtrs. and better scorers come off the bench...seems like it would be a good thing...I'm lobbying for CJ to be a spark plug 6 man who doesn't have to guard Chris Paul...let him shoot...probably be the next Jason Terry or Manu Ginobli 6 man of the year. I think Crabbe should start with Dame and Turner giving us length and getting Crabbe more touches to score.....Turner can get Dame off the ball better than CJ can.

 

I just think for very specific situations, they need to have specific defensive lineups in mind that exclude lillard, cj and leonard. I know they'll probably complain saying they deserve to be in the game for the crucial last play, but they're such bad defenders the coach needs to tell them to get better at D or sit.

And if the other team shoots early and we get a stop with a defensive team in, as far as last night goes, we still had 2 TO's so we could have gotten a rebound, called a TO and put dame and cj back in. I just don't understand why they're in the game for 1 defensive possession when they need a stop.

 

Because Dame is the franchise guy..PERIOD. Look, this is like the question (Why doesn't Laymen get PT over Crabbe because his shot is falling.) It's just a fans point of view.

 

Dame is so much better at defense than last year. IMO. Especially in the post. Last year he was toast if anyone took him down low, this year he's learned how to hold his own, even stripping the ball against bigger opponents. Pick and roll may be a different story, but overall I see a much improved defense from Dame. CJ is a different story.

 

Agreed! What kind of leader isn't on the floor in the most crucial of moments? It seems that we would have a better defensive line up in these situations with Dame on the bench, but that undermines his leadership. Dame just has to continue to get better and better on D.

 

This is faulty logic. Shaq was a leader, did he stay in games when they needed a 3 to tie or when free throws are the name of the game? Do you leave Dwight Howard in the game when you need a 3? No you pull them and put all your shooters in. Why wouldn't you do the same thing when you need 1 stop on defense with time running out? Good coaches maximize every possession for offense and defense. If it undermines his leadership, he's not a leader, a true leader would realize "hey, i'm not the ideal defender in this situation, let's put a better defensive lineup out there and get the win"

 

For the same reason that every team has there two best players on the floor in that situation and also CJ has been sneaky good defensively this year and he puts in a lot of effort on D, and Dame has been better but he still has a long ways to go. However to just use that Bledsoe shot as reason for all of this is just absord, sometimes no matter how good of a defender the opponents have on the floor you will just hit a shot and Dame did one hell of a job defensively on Bledsoe but Bledsoe made a shot i'll give him 1000x out of 1000.

 

This is all faulty logic, you do keep Shaq and especially Dwight in when you need a 3 because of the two things they are better at then most people in the league and thats getting the rebound if you miss the three or set a monster screen to get a 3p shooter open.

 

i guess hack a shaq was just my imagination, there's a reason you pull them when the situation calls for it. If you think Lillard and CJ are 2 of the best 5 defenders on the team, then I'll accept your argument that they should be on the court in that situation. My mentality is that the situation dictates the lineup.

And if I needed a 3 to tie a game with less than 2 seconds left, I would definitely not leave shaq or dwight in the game. First there would be no rebound needed because time would be gone, second, this monster pick means nothing if you have 5 defenders that can all switch and guard teh shooter. That and the fact that you now have 5 guys guarding 4 because you have no need to guard shaq.

Didn't Portland pull Ed Davis and put in Meyer's Leonard to set the screen when Dame sent the game into overtime a few games ago with that alleyoop layup? When you need a score, you put in your scorers, when you need a stop, you should probably put in your defenders

 

Dame has had his share of defensive stops at the end of games before. Like this one:



Let it not be forgotten that a 20% 3pt shooter (career 33%) who was on a 6/19 shooting night made an off the dribble step back fadeaway shot over Dame's outstretched hands. It was a great contest, and a great shot.

 

This is a good point, however we're currently giving up a league high 115.2 point per game so I think our defensive issues go well beyond the end of quarter possessions.

 

Yes, we also need some defensive stops during the beginning and middle of quarters, too - especially the 3rd quarter when we seem to really dig ourselves into a hole.

BNM

 

I am looking at Dame's leadership role trumping being a little weaker on defense in those kind of situations. The Shaq situation is a good point, but he was greatly criticized for not being able to shoot free throws and Shaq was not looked at as a great team leader. Superstar freak of a monster awesome player, definitely, but not known as a real leader. Once of Dame's biggest attributes is his leadership. I do agree though that if Dame being on the court is detrimental to the play, we should consider sitting him for a better defender, if there is one. Our team D sucks gonads all around right now.

 

I agree the team defense is bad all game long, but this whole question was in regards to just a last second shot scenario. Ideally lillard and cj would improve on that end and this would be a moot point, but at this time, they're both negative impacts on the defensive end.