With only one week till the regular season begins what are some of the things the Portland Trail Blazers should focus?
The Portland Trail Blazers are a model of consistency. Each year they make the playoffs and look to improve the roster while developing their drafted talent. What are some of the things they should focus on to improve their game from last year?
Forcing opposition turnovers
Finishing dead last in forcing turnovers last year, it shouldn’t be hard to get a small improvement. Kent Bazemore and Hassan Whiteside should help to improve this mark, while both Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum have shown improved defense both on and off the ball in the last year. Coach Terry Stotts will be pushing the young players to use active hands and force opposing teams into bad positions. With the additions of Bazemore and Mario Hezonja they can pressure the ball and look to strip opposing players if they can’t get a good shot off early in the clock. There’s no reason that the Blazers 16th ranked defense from last season can’t take a step forward. Forcing more turnovers could be the first step.
Corner three pointers
The corner three pointer is one of the most efficient shots in basketball. Utilising these short corners should be more of a priority for a Blazers team who took the least shots in the league from these spots last year. Again, Bazemore can be a large part of the improvement in this area too. He is a career forty percent shooter from the corner three position and has taken almost a third of his threes in this spot. Off season signing Anthony Tolliver is another knockdown shooter from the corner. HIs career percentage from this spot is 39.3, while he has been in the 90th percentile or higher the last eight years when it comes to corner three volume. Though this team may not be able to get Lillard and McCollum to shoot more threes from the corners, if the role players can make this a focus then the Blazers offense will be benefit.
FInishing at the rim
One of the most important skills in basketball is obviously finishing efficiently at the rim. The Blazers don’t have freak athletes who can dunk all over people or make crazy finishes through traffic, but they still need to try to up their game around the rim. With the spacing that Lillard and McCollum provide there will always be open driving lanes to the basket. To maximise the open space they will need to use the personnel that are best equipped to get there. Of the current squad, Rodney Hood is the best finisher at the basket. New additions Whiteside and Hezonja can add real value in this area though. Both have had years where they finished above 70 and 60 percent at the rim. The young players will also be able to provide value around the rim. Zach Collins and Anfernee Simons are both ready for bigger roles this year, finishing well in traffic should be a priority for both guys as they look stamp their mark on the league.
If the Blazers can take small steps forward in these areas they can stay around the fifty win mark while raising their floor in the playoffs. The new signings will be an important part of these areas of improvement but it’s up to the veterans to set the tone and show the rest of the squad whats needed to get back to the conference finals.