After nine seasons, the Portland Trail Blazers still haven’t been able to pair offensive superstar Damian Lillard with the right defensive pieces. However, in the current second-round series between the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks, we have seen that the Giannis Antetokounmpo led team has defensive pieces like Jrue Holiday and P.J. Tucker, making things easier for Giannis.
Tucker, in particular, has been amazing value for the Bucks. All series, he has marked Kevin Durant, but it was game four where he put on a defensive clinic. Down two games to one, Tucker limited Durant to an inefficient 9 of 25 with five turnovers as the Bucks tied the series two games apiece.
The Blazers haven’t had a legitimate All-NBA defensive presence since maybe the days of Wesley Matthews. They need to bring in stoppers of the highest caliber to make themselves a legitimate contender.
Here are 3 reasons why the Portland Trail Blazers should sign PJ Tucker
Reason #1 – he has significant experience and durability
Tucker is one of those guys who has been in many situations but hasn’t had the same route to premium role-player status that other guys had.
Tucker was drafted in 2006 by the Toronto Raptors and then waived after just 17 games. He then spent five seasons in Europe playing in Israel, Ukraine, Italy, Greece, and Germany before returning to the NBA.
When he returned, he took a year or two to get the credit that he deserved as an all-world defender, but the small things he did on the court impacted his team and kept him playing at the highest level.
Since 2016/17, he has played in at least ten playoff games every season, a tough task considering the strength of the NBA these days.
Also, until this season, he had only missed nine games in a whopping eight seasons. Tucker is tough, and because he came into the league later, he doesn’t have the NBA miles on his body that other players do.
Tucker is ready to win on an NBA team right now.