Okay, I don't know how much stock I put into this, but I read this article and was particularly shocked at this statement: http://www.blazersedge.com/2016/12/6/13852822/portland-trail-blazers-defense-statistical-analysis No, it's not the greatest article, most of it is pretty obvious information but this specific piece is actually backed up by "numbers". Also, here is Leonard's RPM: (Next to Dame) The 1.11 is a positive defensive RPM. I don't put much stock into this stat (ESPN doesn't even say how it's calculated), but the fact that he's rated positive defensively by ANY stat is honestly kind of surprising.
They must have figured out a way to calculate the "Big Dorky White Guy That Gets Under Your Skin" factor, aka the Bill Laimbeer award.
I'm looking for actual explanations and I can't find any. The team as a whole looks like complete garbage on defense, so any slight positive needs further digging into...
Leonard has always been good at the rim. It's when Stotts tries to play him as a stretch-4 that he gets exposed. As a defensive center, he is the best on the team until Uncle Festus finally plays.
wow, our C's are pretty bad at D, hell they even made me look at Monroe with envy (just for a second! lol)
