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Three stats that should worry the Portland Trail Blazers

By Stevie Cozens

PORTLAND, OREGON - NOVEMBER 13: Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers reacts in the first quarter against the Toronto Raptors at Moda Center on November 13, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. 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 (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OREGON - NOVEMBER 13: Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers reacts in the first quarter against the Toronto Raptors at Moda Center on November 13, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. 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 (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /
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The Portland Trail Blazers are five and eleven to start the season. Injuries, inconsistent shooting and poor defense have hurt a group who was expected to be one of the stronger teams in the western conference.

There are a few key areas that are letting this team down. With key personnel like Damian Lillard and Rodney Hood returning after short injury lay-offs, these deficiencies need to be ironed out to get this Portland Trail Blazers team back on track. Which three stats are the most worrying and how can they be addressed?

Finishing at the rim – 28th in the league, 56 percent

This has been a theme this season. It’s hard to say whether it will continue but a large part of the problem is the inefficiency of three players in particular. Though they aren’t the main options like Damian Lillard or CJ McCollum, Kent Bazemore and Mario Hezonja are two quick players with good size who need to be able to finish strongly at the rim.

Lillard and McCollum have never been great finishers at the rim because of their size and small frames. This leaves it up to the bigger players to take up more of the finishing responsibilities. The wings and bigs need to finish stronger around the rim.

This means not settling for floaters or hook shots and getting all the way to the rim. This team has enough strong free throw shooters that they should be looking to get fouled more and get to the line.

Hassan Whiteside also needs to be better around the rim, he is currently averaging a career low at the rim. These struggles could just be early season chemistry issues, but they need to get the basics down. Finishing at the rum is a fundamental they need to get right.

Opponent free throw rate – 29th in the league, fouling on 25 percent of possessions.

Getting caught with their hands in the cookie jar is the story of the Blazers defense so far this year. Outside of Bazemore, they have struggled to force turnovers, instead fouling incessantly. This has cost the team games, with opposition teams getting into the bonus earlier and then getting free shots sometimes only a few minutes into the quarter.

Kent Bazemore is a good example of a player who gets a lot of steals, but the high risk high reward defense is a low percentage type of defense. Due to lack of size under the rim and sometimes on the wing players are caught gambling for steals, thus leaving their man wide open on a drive to the rim.

Bazemore is a great defender and has probably saved this team more points overall, but there needs to be more patience on defense in contesting shots and just staying in front of the man they are guarding.

Around the rim, the bigs need to stay vertical and move their feet to not allow easy shots. The rim protection hasn’t been terrible this season, ranking in the top ten. But bailing out opponents after a great defensive possession is a real killer for team morale and game continuity.

Defensive Rebounding – 27th in the league, opponent rebounded 28 percent of their misses

This one, comes down to effort, and technique. Missing box outs is a no-no in the NBA. This roster may be undersized but technique on the defensive boards is key. Whiteside is still grabbing his fair share of boards but even his numbers are down from previous seasons.

Rodney Hood and Anfernee Simons are two players that could take on some more of the defensive rebounding responsibilities when they are on the court. Simons is one of the bigger guards when he’s on court, while Rodney Hood is the tallest player on the roster outside of the centers.

This team needs to be more hungry when it comes to rebounding, it is each players responsibility to rebound his position and to box out their man. Even if they have a bigger player on them, this team needs to have some mongrel and be physical under the rim.

Next. It was the right move to waive Pau Gasol. dark

These three stats should be of concern to fans and players alike. Some of these concerns come down to effort and technique. As we are still in the first two months of the season, these problems can be ironed out if personnel are willing to put in the work. If they cant do this, the season will go down hill very quickly.