I really won't have time and don't want to get into a back and forth. But my first thought is the three point shot is what made Stotts. He was pretty much the architect of the three when he was in Dallas and he ran with it here. He showed he knew how to defend it when he had players and a healthy center other than Whiteside or Kanter. Pretty sure he has the roster construction and the GM running the show to blame. As far as coaching is concerned you can only coach the talent you have. Dame and CJ were not going to become defensive players by coaching. They were going to be players that scored the ball. Terry coached them to their strengths. Saying he just let them do what they wanted in my opinion is a cop out. There i feel free.
Which makes it all the more sad that he was so horrible at defending it....... but lol at him being the architect of the three. Come on dude. Check out the stats year by year. When Stotts first took over, the league average for 3s attempted per game was 20. There was only 12 teams attempting 20 or more 3s per game. We were the 3rd best team at defending the three at the time. By the time Stotts left in 2020-2021, the league average for attempts per game was 34.6. In a span of 10 years, the league was attempting almost 15 more threes per game. All 32 teams were averaging over 20 threes per game. In Stotts final three years as coach, we were the 20th, 29th, and 20th best at defending the three. In his final year, teams were hitting 37% of their threes against us. 2021-2022: Lowest number of threes attempted was 28 per game Highest number of threes attempted per game 41.3 Number of teams above 20 attempts per game 32 League average for 3s attempted: 35.2 Blazers with the worst opponent eFG% in the league Opponent three point percentage: 37.1% (league rank 28) 2020-2021 Lowest number of threes attempted was 28 per game Highest number of threes attempted was 43 per game. Number of teams above 20 attempts per game 32 League average for 3s attempted: 34.6 Blazers with the 22nd best opponent eFG% Opponent three point percentage: 37.2% (league rank 20) 2019-2020 Lowest number of threes attempted was 28 per game Highest number of threes attempted was 45 per game. Number of teams above 20 attempts per game was 32 League average for 3s attempted: 34.1 Blazers with the 16th best opponent eFG% Opponent three point percentage: 38.3% (league rank 29) 2018-2019 Lowest number of threes attempted was 25 per game Highest number of threes attempted was 45.4 per game. Number of teams above 20 attempts per game was 32 League average for 3s attempted: 32 Blazers with the 18th best opponent eFG% Opponent three point percentage: 35.9% (league rank 20) 2017-2018 Lowest number of threes attempted was 22 per game, Highest number of threes attempted was 42.3 per game. Number of teams above 20 attempts per game was 32 League average for 3s attempted: 29 Blazers with the 27th best opponent eFG% Opponent three point percentage: 36.4% (league rank 16) 2016-2017 Lowest number of threes attempted was 21 per game, Highest number of threes attempted was 40.3 per game. Number of teams above 20 attempts per game was 32 League average for 3s attempted: 27 Blazers with the 20th best opponent eFG% Opponent three point percentage: 37% (league rank 27) 2015-2016 Lowest number of threes attempted was 15.6 per game Highest number of threes attempted was 31.6 per game. Number of teams above 20 attempts per game was 24 League average for 3s attempted: 24.1 Blazers with the 16th best opponent eFG% Opponent three point percentage: 37.1% (league rank 26) 2014-2015 Lowest number of threes attempted was 14.9 per game, Highest number of threes attempted was 32.7 per game. Number of teams above 20 attempts per game was 19 League average for 3s attempted: 22.4 Blazers with the 28th best opponent eFG% Opponent three point percentage: 33.8% (league rank 6) 2013-2014 Lowest number of threes attempted was 14 per game Highest number of threes attempted per game 26.6 per game. Number of teams above 20 attempts per game was 20 League average for 3s attempted: 21.5 Blazers with the 25th best opponent eFG% Opponent three point percentage: 35.5% (league rank 11) 2012-2013 Lowest number of threes attempted was 13.5 per game Highest number of threes attempted was 28.9 per game. Number of teams above 20 attempts per game was 12 League average for 3s attempted: 20 Blazers with the 5th best opponent eFG% Opponent three point percentage: 34% (league rank 3) 2011-2012 Lowest number of threes attempted was 11.8 per game Highest number of threes attempted was 27 per game. Number of teams above 20 attempts per game was 12 League average for 3s attempted: 18.4 Blazers with the 6th best opponent eFG% Opponent three point percentage: 36.3% (league rank 25) 2010-2011 Lowest number of threes attempted was 11.3 per game Highest number of threes attempted was 25.6 per game. Number of teams above 20 attempts per game was 9 League average for 3s attempted: 18 Blazers with the 9th best opponent eFG% Opponent three point percentage: 36.7% (league rank 23)
Oh boy. Stats! I watched him pick apart Nate when they used Kidd to shoot threes and win a Championship. I don’t need stats. Go talk to people who know from that period. Stotts was one of the very first to use the three point shot the way it’s used today. Next defending it takes defenders like I said. He didn’t have them.
Truth is a bunch of words doesn’t make a response better. Facts are facts. Stotts very seldom had players that were great defenders. You cannot coach talent. by the way. Too long Didn’t Read TLDR Is a thing.
The Blazers would've been better playing Nas those minutes - but the one in charge of those minutes did not play him those minutes.
The wordiest poster on the forum with by far the most posts is asking which post and purposely omitting the 10 paragraph post with massive amounts of defensive stats which actually mean nothing at all to the relevance of the conversation at hand. Is saying a definitive direct comment is lazy. Okay. We disagree.
LOL three lines... which was the only actual writing, was a summary of the stats. I posted the stats so you could reference them if you like. Again..... lazy.
Well at least you are starting to shorten up your responses and getting to your point in a line or two. Good on ya.
I agree Dame would say that. I certainly have my stance on the impact of coaching. While many don't agree with it, I try very hard to apply it equally when things good or bad. I'm always amazed how many fans (not just Blazer fans) think coaches can basically only make things worse. If that were the case, certainly someone smarter than me would've figured that out and simply got rid of coaches all together. I think coaching makes a small impact. Their salary suggests this to be true as well.
I believe it’s a much bigger impact than most understand. It’s more than the plays and schemes. It’s about holding together a group and steering the ship. Knowing your players and dealing with issues never discussed or seen in the media. They are 18-19 years old mostly when they start. How many times do you see an 18 year old with his head on straight?