Players have limited control over how well their opponents defend them.  The best way is to learn to run their offensive sets to perfection, which gets them their best looks at the hoop.

And to make open shots when they have them.  Why do the Blazers seem to be missing so many of these?  I think it's simply because they haven't yet learned how to control their emotions, which interferes with their concentration.  

There's a lot at stake when a player shoots, not just two or three points.  If the game is close, the team might need those points to win. The player wants to please his coach, teammates, and fans.  He knows that his future in the league, reputation, and earning power depends on how well he plays, and missing too many sitters is a fast track to the CBA or Europe, unless he has other skills to enhance his value. That's a lot of pressure.  

I don't think all these things run through players' conscious minds much if at all during a game, but I do think that young players worry about these things on a subconscious level. Good shooters have learned somehow not to worry, even subconsciously, about what making or missing shots means.  That takes the emotional pressure away, which allows them to relax and focus on the task at hand, which allows them to hit their shots.  

How do good shooters get to that point?  I'm as slow a learner as anyone, and even I, in my tennis days, was eventually able to stop worrying about losing matches and concentrate totally on what I was doing.  It didn't come easily or quickly, though.  It came about as a combination of growing more mature with age, of blowing points and games so many times that the possibility of doing so stopped bothering me, and of gaining more confidence as my skills improved and my knowledge of strategy and tactics widened.

Veterans in any sport have been through all those stages and reached the point where they can relax and focus during each game.  Young players haven't.  I hate to say it, but the Blazers are the youngest team in the league and there's no getting around the fact that it will probably take them longer as a group to reach that veteran level of relaxation and focus that permits them to make their shots consistently and play to their potential.  

Is there anything that the players or coaches can do to help the players get to that level?  Yes -- by avoiding doing things that increase the players' stress about shooting and, conversely, finding ways to help them get the right perspective about their play and the importance of each shot and each game.  

For example, yelling at players who miss shots is counterproductive.  No player ever misses shots intentionally, and yelling at a player only increases his stress level, which makes him more nervous the next time he takes a shot. I'm not saying Nate is guilty of that, but if he is, he might want to stop. He does seem to have a reputation for yanking players for making mistakes, but whether that's a bad thing for the players depends on how he does that, to which I can't speak.  

A productive thing to do is to keep things positive and fun.  People usually perform best when they work in a positive, upbeat situation and it's hard to be stressed out when you're smiling and laughing.  The late, great Bill Walsh knew this, which is why he once posed as a porter when the 49ers arrived at the airport en route to a Super Bowl.  It cracked the team up and kept guys loose.  And of course, the older the players get and the more experience and knowledge and skills they acquire, the more confidence they will have.

We Blazer fans must be patient with the players. They're doing the best they can.  It will just take a while. It will be worth the wait.