Well... They are really tall this year. I'm not sure if anything else has actually improved. They are more experienced and have taller, better defensive players. But yeah. They are a more imposing defense, for sure.
I think it would do well for all to exert a bit of patience on this kid. He is young, did not benefit from college coaching and has not been handed the keys, so he is questioning his role. Give him another year or two before calling a bust, would be my thought.
He's showing more comfort attacking and getting into the lane. That's very good. He just can't finish still when he gets there. He needs to find out what Dame did and who he worked with and do that.
IDK how possessions are calculated, but maybe one of the reasons people think we're isolation heavy is because we run a lot of sets that generate nothing and lead to Grant/Ant forcing a play with <10 seconds on the shot clock. I don't know if those are considered isolation, but I suspect that is why.
Have you seen Cleveland play this year? If the Blazers could use that as a mold while crafting this roster for the future, that would be optimal. Blazers defense has improved and has made it a bit more fun to watch this year(subtracting the last performance), but are no where near the level of Cleveland. I think they are just getting started, as the bulk of their core is still fairly young at a 27.5 average age this year. Just enough experience and youth.
We've kinda gone down this path before. In general, this board (and other fan bases), grossly over estimates how frequent their team runs isolation plays, especially in comparison to the rest of the league. If a large majority of the possessions you watch are with one team, you're likely to think the outcomes, officiating, etc. are more extreme than they actually are.
I think most of Scoot's turnovers come off of his wreckless drives. But he's getting better and not forcing things. His efficiency still sucks, at with a TS% below 50%, but he's been better from the paint and from mid range. His 3pt% is coming up from another ice cold start.
