How The Trail Blazers Are Shutting Down Everyone's Best Plays some Excerpts: The Portland Trail Blazers have made drastic strides in the defensive end this season. Especially defending after timeouts, going from 25th in 2021-2022 to currently ranking 2nd in the NBA in after-time-out Defense. In the huddle most NBA coaches are used to facing man defense. The Trail Blazers mix this up by having two different calls. Their zone call is fist where they hold a fist up, their man call is five, five fingers up. The Portland Trail Blazers 2-3 zone is similar to how the Heat run their incredible zone. The two players up top typically have length. Using Jerami Grant especially up top to create deflections, longer passes, their job is to corral and contain any drives and pick up the ball. When one player picks up the ball , the other player drops back, almost to the high post, just off the elbow, to take any off-ball flashing away and find the closest man.
Thanks for sharing! No surprise that putting Nurk in a less-aggressive situation has been to Portland's benefit. There were some that wanted to see him trap or high-hedge in the past, but that doesn't play to his strengths. Combine that with an improved defensive roster, Billups is doing a nice job!
