The Portland Trail Blazers added a bunch of guards this offseason. A 3-and-D wing seemed most needed, but for Portland’s new style of offense, the guard additions make sense.
The Blazers selected two guards in this year’s draft: Anfernee Simons and Gary Trent Jr. Drafting them hinted at Pat Connaughton and Shabazz Napier’s exit.
Then, Neil Olshey signed Nik Stauskas and Seth Curry. This officially closed the lid on Connaughton and Napier’s careers in Portland.
The team’s depth chart is now loaded with guards.
- PG: Damian Lillard, Seth Curry, Wade Baldwin (potentially).
- SG: CJ McCollum, Nik Stauskas, Gary Trent Jr., Anfernee Simons.
Rip City fans hoped and waited for the team to announce the signing of a 3-and-D wing. With no cap space and one roster spot remaining, the only way to acquire such a player is through trade.
Olshey has alluded to Portland’s involvement in trade talks, but fans shouldn’t hold their breath.
What’s the benefit of having so many guards then?
Three-point shooting
Out of every Blazers lineup that played at least ten games together last season, this one had the highest percentage of its shots be three-pointers:
- Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Shabazz Napier, Al-Farouq Aminu and Ed Davis.
These five guys played 12 games of minimal time together and 48% of their shots were three-pointers. The next closest lineup took 42.9%. It featured the same players, except Connaughton in for Napier.
There’s one theme between the two squads attempting the most outside shots: three guards simultaneously on the court.
Terry Stotts experimented with a three-guard lineup of Lillard, McCollum and Napier in the middle of the season. Napier was playing his best career basketball at the time and had earned himself more minutes.
The three together was initially a concern defensively due to their size. However, they performed surprisingly well on that end.
Lillard, McCollum and Napier recorded a defensive rating of 98.4 in 233 minutes and an offensive rating of 120.4. The defensive rating was in the 15th percentile team-wide, and the offensive rating was in 99th percentile.
Portland’s offseason plan of acquiring as many guards as possible might have been based on these grounds. Playing three guards simultaneously leads to more three-pointers and therefore a better offensive rating, all while not being too liable defensively.
Nik Stauskas and Seth Curry
In 2017-2018, Nik Stauskas took 67.1% of his shots from behind the three-point line. In 2016-2017, Seth Curry’s most recent season, he took 47.1% of his shots from three. Both of these outside shooting rates are higher than Lillard and McCollum’s.
Related Story: Does Stauskas or Connaughton fit the offense better?
Combining Stauskas and Curry’s tendencies with the pattern of three-guard lineups, the Blazers are set to shoot a lot of threes. And that was Neil Olshey’s plan all along.
After the New Orleans Pelicans playoff series, the GM realized he had a perimeter shooting problem. As a team, the Blazers shot 33.3% from three in the series.
Aminu, a career 33.5% three-point shooter, led the team with 3.3 threes per game. Lillard and McCollum made 2.3 and 2.8 respectively, and no one else hit more than one.
Even worse? Those percentages came from mostly uncontested looks as the Pelicans dared anyone besides Dame and CJ to score.
As a result, Olshey focused on adding guards capable of sinking catch-and-shoot threes. Stauskas and Curry are the bargain options fitting this criterion, as is Trent Jr.
Next: Summer League Blazers fitting Olshey's offensive plan
Rip City may not be happy with how this offseason turned out; I’ve definitely had my fair share of complaints.
But after listening to Neil Olshey explain his goals for the team’s offense next year, the additions make sense. More guards mean more perimeter shooting, and the guards Portland signed can certainly knock down the three.