Good post, this topic has come up a lot recently.

You can only blame the players for so long.

but we are not a good defenesive team.

But, so do blocked shots, offensive rebounds and steals. And turnovers = a negative stop.

So if steals, o-boards and blocks are up, and turnovers are down – all of which I am entirely too lazy to look up – you can say that the defense is better even if the effort or intensity isn’t readily apparent.

And also – steals and blocks lead to a faster game – shorter possessions for them and more break opportunities for the Blazers, so overall scoring might go up.

is having a good on the ball defender at PG. LMA, outlaw, batum and even frye are decent help defenders (even though they have occasional lapses). Defense is not always about steals and blocks, forcing opponents to shoot lower %shots or contested shots is always a sign of good defense, which is why our opponent FG % is critical since apart from joel we have no respected defenders.

if the offensive game we play means the other team NEVER gets 100 possessions?

I am not being sarcastic.

Greg Oden, no fast break points, deliberate half court offense

How are are Nate’s peers around the NBA not aware of this big lie? It’s a conspiracy I tell you!

I’ve seen taller.

In the 3 full years as coach of the Blazers, Nate has coached the Blazers to the 2 worst defensive ratings in FRANCHISE HISTORY. His best year, 07-08, was the 4th worst in franchise history.

Are there any positives? Why yes there is. In each full year as coach of the Blazers, the defensive rating has improved. From YMCA defense to below average NBA defense. So far this year, in the small sample of games, the Blazers defense has been the worst in franchise history by a large margin.

I would wait until at least all-star break to make a judgment this year. So far this year, the team is giving up open shots and easy baskets inside. Nate has good personnel to work with this year. LMA, Batum, Roy, Webster, Oden, Przybilla are or can be good defenders. Every team is gonna have their share of players who aren’t good defenders. Just look at the Spurs with Parker and Oberto. Or the Rockets with Alston and Scola. How about the Jazz with Boozer and Okur.

Making excuses for Nate is passing the buck to players. Nate’s job is to get the most out of the players on the defensive end. So far, his record shows that he has not done a good job. Championships are won on the defensive end, if Nate cannot coach a good defensive team, he has no business being the coach of the Blazers in the future.

I think when it comes to this issue, people already have their minds made up. I’m really wondering though, at what point do people concede that Nate is not a good defensive coach? 15 years? 30 years? I think that if Nate spends his entire career producing poor defensive statistics, his fans will always say, well he never had any good defenders on his team. But seriously, what are the chances that after all these years he hasn’t even had any even potential defenders? like, guys with the tools to be good defenders? frankly, I feel like any roster in the nba has players capable of being good defenders. defense is SO much more about the coach and player development than the natural offensive abilities of individual players. What really boggles the mind is when every player talks about focusing on defense and the practices focuses on defense, and the coach swears they’re focusing on defense, and the defense sucks. I don’t think nate is stupid, I think he’s an awesome coach who realizes how important defense is, he just hasn’t been capable of instilling that in his players or implementing an effective scheme. I’m stealing this from another poster, but someone commented the other day that nate should just go out and hire a good assistant like doc rivers did in boston. good freaking idea.

If he is not a defensive minded coach, he should be run and gun coach. But thats not the case cuz our team cabt run a lick of a fast break. So is he half court offensive minded coach, where he would dump the ball in the low post? Nate is not there either, cuz all we do is shot jumpers. I conclude that Nate is a jump shooting coach. when we get Oden back that might change.

And all problems are solved? While it might help to have specialized coaches on the roster for offense, defense (I too was under the impression that was Nate himself…), and big men, it also helps to have the right players for the task as Morti has laid out above in great detail. So who do we have at hand, according to the scouting experts from DraftExpress (a few key statements from all players’ defense section):

Steve Blake: "A passable defender that will give an effort, but lacks the athleticism or strength to make a big impact.[…] Does a good job closing out shooters and getting a hand up, but lacks the quickness to stay with most of the elite point guards in the game. […] Shows good footwork and fundamentals when his man tries to get separation with hesitation and crossovers. Has a lot of good qualities on the defensive end, but often isn’t explosive enough to stay with players who are overwhelmingly more physically gifted than him. "

Sergio Rodriguez: “Defense has never been one of his virtues, but he has at least made significant strides in the last few years.[…] Indeed he will never be a great defender for two main reasons. First, although he will work not to become a serious defensive liability for his team in the future, he doesn’t have a defensive mentality. […] Second, he’s not that gifted physically.[…]”

Jerryd Bayless: “Defensively, the freshman has lockdown potential for an NBA point guard…Committed to playing defense…Lateral quickness (strength)…average wingspan…undersized for SG…ability to fight through screens (weaknesses)”

Brandon Roy: “A bit lackadaisical at times defensively, possibly due to the amount of responsibility he’s forced to shoulder on the other end, as well as the heavy amount of minutes he plays. […] Has really nice timing, knows the scouting report and can make things difficult when it’s time to buck down and get a stop. Contributes on the glass as well.”

Rudy Fernandez: “Defense doesn’t look like a high priority for Rudy at this point. He’s not the most aggressive on-ball defender, and he’s not putting much energy into stopping his matchups. […] He fully takes part in the intense gambling style of defense that his team employs, staying aggressive in the passing lanes at all times to come up with a large amount of steals each game.”

Martell Webster: “Shows some signs on the defensive end, but not consistently. Not a bad one-on-one defender, but lacks the lateral quickness to consistently defend more athletic players. […] Lacks some experience and savvy on this end. Will try and close out shooters and block their shots, leaving himself out of position for long rebounds. […] Lacks the foot quickness to be a lockdown defender, and is somewhat stuck between the 2 and the 3, but has the strength, size and length to be a capable one with experience.”

Travis Outlaw: "A solid defender who needs to recognize that he has all of the physical tools to be an elite defender. Has the length and lateral quickness to be a menace on the perimeter, but has only been to take advantage of that in small doses. Is largely inconsistent with the things he shows on the defensive end. […] Tends to largely let the game come to him, not always following the scouting report or displaying good fundamentals. […] Needs to recognize what an added measure of defensive intensity and awareness could do for his value as a role player.

Nicolas Batum: Perimeter defense (strength)…poor rebounder [?]…gets extremely passive at times…able to play lock down defense taking advantage of his freakish wingspan and athleticism…good team defense…might cede his opponent more room than he should.

LaMarcus Aldridge: No current scouting report. “Must maintain focus on defense, and avoid foul trouble while doing so […] He allows his man to front him on offense occasionally and will not be active or aggressive enough to punish him for it. The same goes with his defense and rebounding, not having the strength to establish position deep in the paint and fight off his man simply with his athleticism […] not consistently aggressive enough as a defender or rebounder”

Channing Frye: “Has the size, length and athleticism to be effective at times, but lacks the strength or toughness to live up to his potential on this end. Will get pushed around by bigger players on a regular basis and usually doesn’t offer much resistance. Has a hard time holding position. Capable of defending some power forwards, but has just average fundamentals and awareness out on the perimeter. Not able to come over from the weakside to block shots like he used to. Can’t hedge pick and rolls to the same extent either. Rebounds the ball at a respectable clip. Is extremely foul prone on a per-minute basis.”

Ike Diogu: “May be strong enough to be a good defender, but absolutely has to cut down on his fouls. Has stunted his development by being too aggressive on the defensive end. Needs to learn to stay on his feet and not go after fakes. Displays the strength and foot speed to be a passable defender, but makes too many mistakes. Does a good job of cleaning the glass. Can throw his weight around, but needs to be more disciplined when his man has the ball.”

Shavlik Randolph: No scouting report.

Greg Oden: No current scouting report. “He will need to improve his conditioning before he is ready to emerge as a superstar at the next level, and there are still ways to bother Oden when he is forced to roam out on the perimeter to defend. But in terms of awareness, activity level, comfort level and skill is now improving by leaps and bounds on a game-by-game basis […] Did a good job anchoring Ohio State’s defense, contesting and cutters or drivers that tried to come in the lane, though he only netted one official block on the game. The only area where Oden showed some problems on defense was when he had to step out on the perimeter, which has been an ongoing concern.”

Joel Przybilla: “A solid defender that is good for a few blocks, a ton of rebounds, and a handful of fouls every game. Doesn’t do a great job using his strength defensively. Will allow his man to get position on the block by sagging too far into help side. […] Will force his man to miss some easy shots by being physical and not falling for a lot of fakes.[…] Very aggressive when going after rebounds. Outstanding at cleaning up the defensive glass. […] Very nice option defensively due to his ability to contest shots and rebound, but needs to do a better job keeping the ball out of his man’s hands.”

So that is the canvas Nate can work with. To summarize
Underwhelming: Sergio, Channing
Pretty mediocre: Steve, Martell, LMA, Ike, Rudy
Could be better if they consistently tried: Roy, Travis
Strong potential: Jerryd, Nic, Greg, Joel

Thanks for posting it. I do disagree with your conclusion, but I also enjoy different ways to look at things.

The questions about personnel and what they can do have already been raised. I think it’s also notable that the blazers seem to get better each year (acquisition of roy being the year that counts).

I also find it interesting that Nate did so well offensively.

An artist is as good as the tools they have available. We don’t have those defensive tools and you can’t force people to change no matter how much you want to drive common sense through their head with a sledge hammer. Regardless of results, I think we can all agree that Nate does not have personnel that excel on defense. However, it is commonly accepted that Nate was the driving force behind the defense for the US team. It’s like picking up a practice violin and attempting to play music and then picking up a stradivarius violin and playing music. You can play music with both but the depth, richness, and responsiveness are VASTLY different.

Our team is a practice violin.

I’d like to see how the year develops before I label Nate a non-defensive coach. We started out rough last year and we need to get this team moving more. The compliments towards Nate’s defensive planning and the weak defensive players are what have me leaning towards disagreement with you. If we don’t improve on defense this year, then I may just need to think about what you posted and lean more towards you being right.

Let’s wait and see.

Thanks again for the post.

per 100 possessions, Nate doesn’t appear to be a defensive coach.

Unless part of the reason he plays as slow with our group as he does is to limit opponents touches. Then it’s a matter of the best defense being a slow offense. Why does that count against him?

Why don’t last years’ numbers of 8th in opponents scoring average and 8th in opponents FG % count for anything? Just because the per 100 stat says otherwise? Yes we played slower, so teams took less shots and scored less, but why did we hold teams to 45.1%? It’s 82 games worth of data… it can’t be a fluke.

All we lost this summer was JJack and JJones… not defenders to say the least. Why can’t we expect to be better this year?