With the offensive firepower they possess, the Portland Trail Blazers are arguably the hottest team in the bubble. But improving on defense is a must.
Another day marks yet another win for Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers, and it could not make Rip City fans worldwide more excited. After a horrifying stretch in the third quarter, which resulted in an 11-1 run for the Nets, the team stepped up and pulled out the win.
Unfortunately, this was done solely on the offensive end as the Blazers currently have a non-existent defense. The team has shown greatness on that end of the floor against the Nets, a crucial steal from Lillard and iso defense by McCollum closed out the win.
With all this in mind, the Blazers currently represent a tale of two cities. According to advance metrics, the Blazers now have the third-best offense in the NBA and the 27th best defense.
There have been individual players who have shown consistent greatness on the defensive end. Gary Trent Jr. can guard virtually anyone, as seen in his performance against Paul George. Additionally, the team has Hassan Whiteside, who leads all NBA players in blocks.
As long time Blazers fans know, this is a consistent trend for the team dating back to the Brandon Roy era. The red and black boast one of the best offenses and a swiss cheese of a defense.
Given that Portland has legitimate underdog aspirations at a playoff run or even a championship, it is vital to end this trend as quickly as possible.
The team can only get bailed out by so many prolific performances by Dame until other flaws get exposed. The Brooklyn Nets figured this out by trapping the superstar before he even crossed the half-court line.
While this allowed McCollum, Trent, Anthony, and Nurkic to all step up on offense, it revealed how dependent the team is on Lillard. Not only that, but it shows how much the Blazers are dependent on a near-perfect offense time and time again.
Inside the bubble, the Blazers have not scored less than 110 points in a game but have not won by a margin higher than ten.
Most of these improvements are going to happen in practice and the play calling of Terry Stotts. Roster wise, some decisions could immediately improve the team’s overall defense.
With all due respect to Zach Collins, it is time for him to return to the bench in favor of Gary Trent Jr. Most of the lineups the Blazers play are smaller; they need a lineup to meet that demand.
Trent is the best perimeter defender on the team, and it will be crucial for him to take players like Ja Morant or LeBron James out of the game. Outside of that, his offensive contributions speak for themself and warrant a starting job.
The other critical decision would be giving Hassan Whiteside more minutes per game. He should not start over Nurk, but he definitely should be treated as the sixth man. Against the Nets, Whiteside put up 16 points, 9 rebounds, one steal, and two blocks in just 15 minutes.
Upping his usage to even something a minimal as five additional minutes could help the team defense greatly.
All in all, Portland shows great promise for a solid playoff run, but need to tighten up on defense to ignite what is already an exceptional team.