Portland Got Torched From Behind the Arc
The defense looked puzzled on Wednesday night. The Trail Blazers sat back and watched as the Denver Nuggets poured in three-pointer after three-pointer. The Nuggets’ ball movement had the Blazers looking disorientated as uncontested three-point jumpers were endless on Wednesday night.
The Nuggets went 18-for-32 last night from behind the arc which in today’s NBA will most likely never lead to the outcome being in the Trail Blazers favor.
Over the summer, the Trail Blazers lost two crucial pieces on defense in Al-Farouq Aminu and Maurice Harkless which means this team is going to have to adjust and learn how to defend without them. A drop in perimeter defense has to be expected but not to this extent.
If the perimeter defensive doesn’t see improvement then this could end up being a very long season for this Portland team. This issue becomes particularly concerning when you take into account how effective the mixture of Hassan Whiteside and Zach Collins have been at protecting the rim.
Look for the Portland Trail Blazers to improve on these issues against the Sacramento Kings on Friday. And they better find a solution fast, because Buddy Hield and De’Aaron Fox will take no mercy on the Blazers as they have just as much to prove this year.