Opp. Field Goal % worries

by Blazin'aTrail on Dec 11, 2008 11:59 AM PST

Hey everyone. As much as this team has impressed me this season one thing has been buggin/worrying me, Opp field goal percentage. Our defense has improved over last year thanks to Batum, Roy and Sergio's improvement, and Gregzilla holding down the paint but we are 22nd in opp. FG%. I know we are 7th in ppg allowed but i feel like that has a lot to do about our rebounding and being able to keep teams off the offensive glass. We have been winning games this year when teams have a higher field goal percentage then us, mostly because of 3pt shooting and rebounding. I guess my point is that all the legit playoff teams are holding teams to lower percentages than we are and im worried that the 3pt well will dry up like it did last year after our 13 game win streak and we wont be able to win games when another team outshoots us by 5%. Im not saying that the team will drop off big time or miss the playoffs its just something that has stuck out to me.

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I'm worried too.

This has been a huge factor in why we never really seem to have ten point leads for most of games like other good teams carry.

In the blowouts of Miami and Chicago we were able to keep them from scoring easy points… Are the Blazers hoping that in the long run our awesome athletic prowess will fill in for better defense? Is it simply that we don’t have the will to defend?

Of all of our current defenders I like LMA the best. This is because he plays strong position defense like a tiny Tim Duncan.

by staylost on Dec 11, 2008 12:07 PM PST reply actions

I hear your concern, but really.....who's going to

“dry up” for us? We’re a young team that’s improving. If anything, our percentages should go UP and our defense should improve.

Every night the team scores 100 points is sort of a mini-Hispanic night.........all the fans get free Chalupas. --Bust a Bucket

by prezofdeath on Dec 11, 2008 12:07 PM PST reply actions

A few thoughts

1. The numbers have improved some, I believe, since Greg came back. First 7 or 8 games were quite bad, and we’ve improved now that we have 48 minutes of shot-blocking from Greg and Joel.
2. We’ve played a tough schedule, with 2/3 of our games coming against teams with winning records. If you play the better teams, you will have a worse defensive FG% than if you play bad teams.
3. We’ve played 2/3 of our games on the road. Usually, teams shoot better at home than on the road, so we are playing teams that have that advantage.

All that doesn’t mean it isn’t a weakness for us. It is a weakness. But the numbers probably look worse than the actual reality, and as we play more games at home, and more games against weaker teams in the next 3 months, those numbers will probably improve.

Do you like asparagus?

by jscot on Dec 11, 2008 12:48 PM PST reply actions

Thats a good point

and i hope your right

- Neil

by Blazin'aTrail on Dec 11, 2008 1:11 PM PST up reply actions

agreed

Still a major concern, however.

Boomshakalaka

by jksnake99 on Dec 11, 2008 1:22 PM PST up reply actions

All the trade-happy posters

(such as myself) will want to allow for this – any player that we obtain in a trade has to be a better defender than the one we are giving up. – Elgin

It's all blues and no dinner at the Ministry of Bag. The steaks are getting thinner. The office is a drag. - Pete Brown

by 22baylor on Dec 11, 2008 1:32 PM PST reply actions

Not really worried

You can tell it was bad the first few games. You can also see the effects of a long road trip at the end. The lines are close enough im not nearly as worried about this as about opponents points in the paint.