Reason #2 – Zeller has strong positional size
The Blazers need to get away from playing their players up positions all the time.
With the small backcourt of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, playing the six-foot-seven Robert Covington or Carmelo Anthony at the five isn’t a strategy that will work well on the defensive side of the ball.
With a 29th ranked defense in the 2021 season, the Blazers bench sometimes had players like Nassir Little at the power forward position, and Anfernee Simons or CJ McCollum at the small forward spot. This was the same in 2020 when the Blazers were arguably worse on defense.
The signing of Zeller, who is a seven-foot-center that weighs in at 240 pounds, gives the Blazers a true backup who can defend tough around the rim. He isn’t a shot-blocker, but he is strong, has good positioning under the rim, and he does the dirty work like boxing out and screening that you want from your big.
Enes Kanter had a great season in 2021, but his struggles on defense meant that he couldn’t really play a role against certain teams who spread the floor and had similar issues in the playoffs. Zeller is the same as Kanter, but he is slightly leaner and moves better than Kanter does on the defensive end. The bench defense will be better for the signing of Zeller.