Portland Trail Blazers news roundup: drop-big defense effective against Jazz, Turner and Harkless injuries, Simons interview

Plenty of news surrounds the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Portland Trail Blazers regular season is only nine days away! As we gear up for it, let’s take a look at a few of the stories coming out about the team.

Blazers drop-big defense effective against the Utah Jazz

While Portland ultimately lost their third preseason game against the Jazz, 123-112, they proved the better team. The Blazers reserves lost the game in the fourth quarter, but their first-team controlled the game against Utah’s starters.

One reason for the Blazers’ effectiveness was their drop-big defense, allowing Jusuf Nurkic to stalk around the restricted area and wait for Jazz players to come to him. And when they did, they would have to face the music in the form of block after block. He ended the game with five rejections and was a pillar of support for Portland whenever the defense collapsed.

The Salt Lake Tribune wrote about how this style of defense stunts the Jazz’s offense:

"“Portland plays the “drop big” style of defense that pushes Jusuf Nurkic way into the paint as teams come off pick and rolls, begging the Jazz to hit pull-up and midrange shots… The problem is that the Jazz don’t have many talented pull-up shooters.”"

Of course, this type of strategy only works when the big you’re dropping is a threat to offensive players attacking him. Nurkic certainly was in Sunday’s game.

If he can continue being scary and playing big down low, the Blazers’ starters could be an elite defensive team against clubs with few pull-up options – or those that have trained the midrange shot out of themselves.

The team as a whole could return to top ten defensive rating status if Zach Collins plays the type of staunch defense he did during NBA Summer League when Nurkic sits.

Maurice Harkless and Evan Turner injuries

Before tip-off on Sunday, Head Coach Terry Stotts said that Maurice Harkless would play limited minutes in his first game of the preseason. He had been recovering from a left knee injury.

However, during pregame warmups, the Athletic’s Jason Quick reported that he felt soreness in his right ankle ankle. Wanting to ease him back into playing slowly, the team opted to sit him out once again.

Quick also reported that Evan Turner would miss Sunday’s game due to a shoulder injury.

According to Kerry Eggers, the shoulder issue had been suffered during training camp. The team was likely giving Turner time to get right during a meaningless exhibition game. While the extent of the injury is unknown, it’s probably nothing to worry about.

Let’s hope Harkless gets a chance to see minutes in at least one of the remaining two Blazers’ preseason games. He has a good chance of being a starter this upcoming season, and his defense and three-point shooting will be counted on this year.

Anfernee Simons interview with the Oregonian

The Oregonian recently sat down with the Blazers 19-year-old rookie, Anfernee Simons. The interview is mostly lighthearted, working more as a way to get to know Simons as a person off-the-court and his experiences in his young NBA career.

Questions range from what he does when he’s not playing basketball, to what drives him, to which areas of his game he thinks he needs to most improve.

Watch the interview here:

Simons has looked confident in his preseason games as a ball handler and someone who can get to where he wants on the floor.

In his three appearances, he averages 6.7 points and one assist.

Look for future updates about stories from around the internet surrounding the Portland Trail Blazers.