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Portland Trail Blazers vs. Minnesota Timberwolves: 3 keys to a Blazers victory tonight

By Marlow Ferguson Jr.

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - JANUARY 09: Josh Okogie #20 of the Minnesota Timberwolves dribbles the ball against the Portland Trail Blazers during the game at Target Center on January 9, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 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 Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - JANUARY 09: Josh Okogie #20 of the Minnesota Timberwolves dribbles the ball against the Portland Trail Blazers during the game at Target Center on January 9, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 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 Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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Portland Trail Blazers
D’Angelo Russell, Minnesota Timberwolves (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

No. 1: Don’t test D’Angelo Russell with drop coverage on defense

In the absence of Karl-Anthony Towns, the Timberwolves have loosened the offensive confines for D’Angelo Russell. In the second half of the Wolves-Nuggets game, Russell looked the part of his former All-Star self, in large part because the gameplan centered around arguably his greatest trait: pick-and-roll scoring.

By my count, Russell turned eight screens into 14 points in that half alone, en route to a 33-point, 11-assist night.

Russell is one of the more dynamic scorers in the NBA, averaging 21.7 points per game over the last three seasons. There’s no one defined way to contain him, especially given his current role. But the Blazers might find some success in avoiding dropping their pick-and-roll coverage in tonight’s game.

Over the last few weeks, each of us has thought about what we’d do if we were in Terry Stotts’ situation. Personally, the defensive philosophy would be to blitz him on pick-and-rolls, or switch, and force Minnesota to win the game on the shooting wrists of other players.

Russell comes into this game as the NBA’s No. 4 scorer in pull-up shooting situations (10.8 PPG), with a 50.7 effective field goal percentage to match.

If the Blazers are dropping and can’t fight through screens, that provides ample space for him to either test Portland’s limits with his trusty pull-up midrange shot, or step into an in-rhythm 3-pointer.

Switching could work, too, especially since we’ve seen Portland use one of either Derrick Jones Jr. or Robert Covington to defend the opposing team’s best guard. There’s versatility across the board, assuming the Portland Trail Blazers use it to their advantage.