This is the most excited I have been about this team since we traded for Scottie

So, just to state the obvious...He's been coaching teams with the intention to tank while trying to keep Dame stats happy. Not sure what you expected to see from him, but this is the first real look at what he can do.

 

And I hope he's successful. I've not been impressed by him thus far. I hope to be impressed moving forward, though I have seen nothing of Billups that excites me.
I'm sorry if I wasn't clear on that.

 

This is a make or break year for Chauncey. I think our focus will be on winning sooner rather than later because our youth has a ton of experience already. Ant/Ayton/Rob/Tisse will all be entering their primes. Scoot is advanced for his age.

I'm anticipating that wins will start to matter beginning next season, so Chauncey will be judged this season on habits and teaching. No more tanking and excuses. Style of play and defensive improvement also will be judged. While the actual numbef of games we win won't matrer now, there needs to be growth and building towards that.

He has a contract through the end of next season, so he will be entering a lame duck year in the summer of 24. Evaluation will start now.

 

It's an easy stance to take without providing anything to back it up. Don't mind me, I'm a little oversensitive to unjustified criticism...Perusing a sports fan forum is not the wisest choice for me.

 

Definitely more excitement going into this season than probably the last 5-6 for me personally. It’s nice to finally be out of Olsheys stink that was his form of roster construction. The lone hold over being Anferno who I think is going to flourish in a lead role. The young guys growth will be the main thing I look for initially, if they succeed and the rest of the team meshes well then they might just get some Real excitement! I haven’t even fully grasped what having multiple plus defenders on a team can do, it’s been so long.

 

It's not a stance. It's just how I feel. I'm not being critical. Just haven't been excited yet. Hoping to be excited soon. Nothing would make me happier than having the next Popovich already leading these kids.

 

The good news about Chauncy is that it took him a while to become a great player in the NBA as well, so there is precedent to him learning on the job and reaching the heights that his talent / knowledge allow him to. Add a roster that is built more to how he wants to play - and it is certainly possible that he makes strides and becomes the coach that his resume as a player suggests he could be.

 

Chauncey won't have any excuses when it comes to defense anymore. |The team is full of capable defenders top to bottom now.

 

He also won't have any excuses if the team isn't getting down the court fast.
That would mean he hasn't allowed Scoot to run the show.

 

Hard to run a lot when you can't rebound. If Portland is starting Ant, Thybulle, and Grant, they will have difficulty rebounding

last season, out of 190 qualified players, in total rebound rate, Grant was 127th, Thybulle was 145th; and Ant was 189th...out of 190. In defensive rebounding rate, Grant was 126th, Thybulle was 165th, and Ant was 187th. Those three will be, by far, the worst rebounding trio in the NBA at the SG/SF/PF positions

for comparison, when talking defensive rebounding rate:

Brogdon at 14.7% vs Ant at 7.6%
Knox at 17.7% vs Thybulle at 9.7%
Walker at 15.5% vs Grant at 11.9% (Dame 12.8%)

47.9% vs 29.2%

obviously, there are other considerations but if I had to point at a major potential issue it would be the rebounding ability of the starting unit

 

opponents have to miss shots to get rebounds. The Blazers allowed way too many easy buckets last year. One of the worst at opponent interior FG% allowed. Chauncey's zone defense is not good. If the Blazers shifted to man to man, they'd automatically be in a better position for defensive rebounds. Scrap the Zone Coach !!

Offensive rebound issues was just plain old too many Blazer small ball lineups. Portland has more length and versatility now. Oreb shouldn't be as big of a dilemma.

 

actually, last season, the Blazers were 7th in the NBA in opponent FG% at the rim (0-3')



they were 16th in opponent FG% in the 3-10' zone
13th in opponent FG% in the 10-16' zone

but they were 29th in opponent 3ptFG%

Portland may be better at offensive rebounding this season, but I was essentially talking about rebounding that could ignite transition opportunities

 

does the stats say how many attempts were allowed inside the paint ? Where were Blazers ranked in volume #'s ?

 

The Drexler team got to the Finals twice, once against a defending champion and once against the GOAT. That sounds like competing for a title to me. At least much more so than never having a single game in in the WCF versus getting to the WCF 3x in a row and winning twice.

 

putbacks! Nurkic was top Blazer, ranked 44th in NBA offensive tap ups. Ayton was ranked 19th. Those are important. Not every offensive set works perfectly like the highlight films. Freestyle big man buckets help.

 

good point

Blazers were 30th in opponent FGA at rim, but strangely were 3rd in opponent FGA in the 3-10' zone, and actually 2nd in opponent FGA in the 10-16' zone. Maybe it's not so strange in that once a player penetrated the paint it was clear sailing so why stop before the hoop?

that really looks both a schematic and personnel problem. My eyeball said poor rotations last season. A lot of the numbers support that

 

Nurkic had the lowest offensive rebound average of his career last season. Small wonder since somehow it became a 'good idea' for Nurkic to shoot lots more three's. Can't grab an offensive board when you're 20' from the hoop. Over his first 8 seasons, Nurk's average shot distance was 5.6 feet. Last year it was 8.6 feet

 

Blazers were ranked 24th in FG% differential. 25th in 3pt % differential. Meaning a lot of opponents were making their looks at a higher clip then the Blazers.

It's the NBA, everyone is great at basketball. Players can hit from anywhere, and especially if nobody is guarding them too good.