EFFORT/ENERGY This is number one, in my opinion. They've showed that they can be a very good defensive team even when Lillard and McCollum are on the floor. They've shown this by playing with high energy, heart, and effort on the defensive end, but the issue is that it's been in spurts, and hasn't been sustained throughout the course of a game or stretch of games. The biggest issue for the first two months of last season was that there wasn't even spurts of defensive energy, and it lead to many 30pt 1st Quarters for the opposing team, and led to many close losses. Had they played with the defensive energy they showed after the addition of Nurkic and during this pre-season, they could've easily had 5 to 6 more wins, and been a 47-win team. If high defensive effort/energy can become a normal thing for them, it'll make a huge difference in their season, and that's not even taking into account that they actually have a true rim protector in Nurkic now. UNPREDICTABILITY I've always been an advocate for switching up defensive schemes multiple times throughout a game to keep the offense out of their comfort zone. If a defense plays the same scheme throughout an entire game, opposing players will get more comfortable as they will learn where the weakpoints in the defense are, as well as be able to make reads faster (because repetition breeds proficiency, and when the defense is the same and becomes predictable, it becomes repetitive). Stotts has appeared to make progress with this during the pre-season, as Portland has shown to through traps at opposing ball handlers, as well as a combination of trapping, hedging, and sagging at pick n rolls. The defense has had much success with this during the pre-season. Unpredictability based on schemes that are used at the right time can completely shift the momentum of the game, by taking away good shots for the other teams and sometimes turning into easy fast break points. TRANSITION AWARENESS The Blazers appeared very unaware while getting back on defense during an oppositions fast break/transition offense. Sometimes, when the offense is attack fast enough, you have to pick up whoever's closest to you, even if it isn't your normal defensive assignment. However, if you pick up whoever's closest, and a teammate picks up the same guy because it's his defensive assignment, it leads to open offensive players and great shots. I saw this too much from Portland last year, where some would make the right decision to take whoever's closest, while others would have tunnel vision and only focus on getting back to their guy. This would lead to two players guarding the ball, no players guarding the ball, and wide open shots for the other team. If Portland can figure out a way to get everybody on the same page when it comes to transition defense, it'll stop teams from going on huge runs like they did last year, and will get rid of the easiest way to score for bad offensive teams, who struggle more in the halfcourt than on the break. If the Blazers take care of these 3 things, I have no doubt they can be a 50-win team. The rim protection factor is taken care of with Nurkic/Collins, so these are the biggest factors for me. Let me know what you guys think and if there's any factors I missed.
Someone email this to Stotts. Those of us preaching defense for years, have been saying exactly this....only not as eloquently.
These reasons are why I've been somewhat in support of looking for a new coach. Sometimes I wonder if he sees what we all see.
I like what you wrote above and I agree 100% in the way stotts coaches. I have a feeling this will be a break out year for Stotts. He could have had a group of behind the scene egos that wouldn't listen to his direction. I don't feel he has had a group that was 100% all in. Take Butters for instance if he is able to put out similar effect to last night's performance this team will be deadley. The key I see is healthy players knowing their roles or accepting new roles in moving forward. While doing exactly what you posted above and taking advantage of the moment.
I like your defensive factors. Do you consider rebounding part of "defense?" I'm pretty sure rebounding will go a long way in determining their success as well.
I think the unpredictability issue is a great point. I would point out, though, that we've got one of the youngest teams in the league. People without a lot of experience often need a simplified game plan or they'll get lost. Can you imagine asking Leonard to do something different in a coordinated way on each defensive possession? Now that these guys are used to playing together and know a lot more, it makes more sense to throw in a lot more variety on the defensive sets.
Health to their top players will determine Portland's success. If they avoid the injury bug, they should win 50+ games as they've a talented and complimentary team on both ends. The biggest key to taking a step beyond that is Collins development into a Big who can switch off defensively on a variety of players and another perimeter threat to capitalize on defenses collapsing on CJ & Lillard. STOMP
The team played D under Stotts two years ago, so I don't think he can't coach it. It's more likely a strategy of "our guards can't guard anyone, so we better outscore them."
Yeah, we were a more talented team defensively, so we could get away with lapses in these areas. We don't have that same freedom. It's on Stotts to get this current group to fully buy-in.
High school and college teams run more variety of defenses than the NBA. Man, zone, man press, zone press, etc. By the time these players are in the NBA, they should know how to switch between different defenses. I had 5-6 different defenses to run in high school, and I didn't make a mistake with knowing where to be or what to run because our coach held us accountable.
There's defensive rebounding, but you have to force the miss in the first place, and we should be fine on the boards. Rebounding is a big factor fit every teams success. I was trying to single out 3 small things that will play a big role.
I love the trapping we've been doing. It's been beautiful to watch. And Harkless is a MUCH BETTER Defender this year. Even Dame has stepped up his D.
I agree. There was a lot of discussion back when, about how the defensive schemes changed from making RoLo more successful to making Plums more successful.
What stuck out to me below. No ZC in the 1st or 2nd unit. http://www.nbcsports.com/northwest/...eakfast-blazers-overview-what-we-do-dont-know WHAT WE THINK WE KNOW This section is the gray area between what our eyes are telling us and what Stotts won’t confirm or reveal. Starting lineup: I think it has been clear that Stotts will open the season with Lillard, McCollum, Harkless, Al-Farouq Aminu and Nurkic as his starting lineup, but he has yet to confirm it. This group knows each other and it shows on the court. Offensively, this unit flows. There is great ball movement, nice spacing and an overall familiarity that is invaluable in today’s NBA. Defensively, the pairing of Harkless and Aminu is well documented. The two can switch on pick-and-rolls and both are among the Blazers’ better defensive players. Harkless in particular has been very “handsy” -- getting his hands on a lot of deflections, steals and blocks. Second unit: Part of the equation in deciding a starting lineup is plotting the second unit and how the substitution patterns play out. If Stotts indeed goes with the above starting lineup, that leaves his second unit with McCollum at point guard, Connaughton at shooting guard, Turner at small forward, Swanigan at power forward and Davis at center. There are a couple of intriguing aspects to this second unit. Offensively, it allows Turner to have the ball in his hands more often, which is when he is most effective. If he is paired with Lillard and McCollum – both of whom command the ball – it takes away much of Turner’s playmaking strengths while forcing him to uncomfortable spots on the floor as a spacer. And defensively, this is a tough and solid unit. Davis and Turner are plus defenders and Swanigan has shown he can rebound. Connaughton has great hops and is smart, and McCollum has sneaky defensive moments where he will block a shot or anticipate and disrupt passing lanes. It also reminded me of what Turner said this preseason when I asked him what is important in deciding lineups. I was expecting him to say something like spacing, or balance, but he said he found the best teams had a second unit that had an identity. It could be offense, defense, toughness, run-and-gun … but an identity. I think this unit could have a physical, rough-and-tough defensive identity while still remaining dangerous offensively with McCollum’s brilliance and Turner’s playmaking/post game. Anthony Morrow will win 15th spot: If there is one thing left to decide in tonight’s game against Maccabi Haifa, it’s probably the final roster spot, although I think Anthony Morrow won it last week against Toronto, when he made four three pointers in eight minutes. The competition is between Morrow, Archie Goodwin and Isaiah Briscoe.
