Blazers: 5 goals for Wade Baldwin to achieve in his contract season

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HOUSTON, TX – APRIL 5: Chris Paul #3 of the Houston Rockets handles the ball against Wade Baldwin IV #2 of the Portland Trail Blazers on April 5, 2018 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Hounding defense

Handling screens isn’t the only area Portland needs its guards to improve at defensively.

Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, the two new signings, and the two rookies all focus on offense more than defense. Somewhere in that backcourt rotation, the Blazers need a guard to be a dedicated defensive specialist.

In his two college seasons, Baldwin averaged 1.4 and 1.2 steals, respectively. With the Iowa Energy in 2016-2017, he averaged 1.3 steals per game. Then, with the Texas Legends last year, he averaged 2.2 steals per game.

Baldwin picks defenders up right after the inbound pass, catching them off guard. Against Houston on Apr. 5, he caused Harden and Paul to each turn it over once in the backcourt by pressuring them in an unusual situation.

This energy and hustle on defense resulted in a 101.9 defensive rating for Baldwin in his seven games with Portland. Only Caleb Swanigan recorded a better rating with 101.6 (both small sample sizes).

Nonetheless, there’s always room to improve for a guard entering his third year in the NBA. Fighting over screens, closing out on perimeter opponents, and avoiding fouling on drives will all contribute to taking Baldwin to the next level defensively.

With this growth, Baldwin will partner well with Lillard and McCollum when they stagger. He’ll defend the primary offensive threat on the opposing team and allowing the star guards to rest up before another offensive possession.