The Portland Trail Blazers’ pace hasn’t been blisteringly fast in recent years.
For the last few decades, the Blazers have been content to do things at their own speed. Over the last four full seasons, the Blazers’ pace (an estimation of the number of possessions a team gets per 48 minutes) has been JUST over league-average.
Before that, it was below league-average (sometimes significantly) from 2013 all the way back to 1999-2000.
This year, things are a little different.
A history of slowing down
The NBA’s average pace has fluctuated over the years. Despite that, the Blazers have trended slower than the rest of the league since the early 1990s.
There are two pretty stark trends you notice right away:
- The Blazers’ pace was high during the Rick Adelman years.
- Their pace tanked under Nate McMillan.
Neither of these things will surprise longtime Blazers fans. The high-octane, fast-breaking Blazers of the early 1990s echoed the same fast-paced teams under Jack Ramsay that won the 1977 NBA title.
When P.J. Carlesimo took over, the Blazers entered an extended period of mediocrity and lost much of the identity they had built through the late 1980s and early 1990s.
With Mike Dunleavy, the Blazers had cobbled together a talented but aging core of veterans who preferred not to run.
And the years under Mo Cheeks could just as easily be forgotten for reasons beyond pace of play.
While McMillan restored a sense of order to a Blazers franchise that desperately needed it, his teams were also pretty slow, and frankly… pretty boring.
Brandon Roy ISOs carried the day, and the criticisms of McMillan’s slow, half-court offense had worn out their welcome by the time he was fired.
A slightly faster Blazers team
There’s no doubt: the NBA is faster now than it used to be.
The league is running at a quicker pace now than it has since the 1988-89 season. And while it’s still early in the season, the pace of the game has been trending up for years.
Still, the Blazers ARE playing faster, and the competition isn’t the only reason:
- The Blazers are the NBA’s fourth-youngest team, and fresh legs mean a greater willingness to get up and go.
- Jusuf Nurkic may not be a “unicorn” like Kristaps Porzingis. He’s still much more mobile than either of the Blazers’ last two centers, Mason Plumlee or Robin Lopez. He also lost 30+ pounds over the offseason, making it easier to run.
- CJ McCollum and Evan Turner both take turns as primary ball handlers. Both of them can push the pace, even if Damian Lillard often doesn’t.
Puzzlingly, the Blazers are dead last in the NBA in fast-break points. That means the Blazers’ pace and extra possessions may be more a function of quick shot clock management or their opponents than other factors.
No matter the reason, Portland is faster than the have been in over 20 years. For a team still trying to find its way and build its identify, it wouldn’t hurt to look to the Clyde Drexler/Terry Porter Blazers for inspiration.
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