What’s next for the Blazers’ defense?

It’s no secret how bad the Portland Trail Blazers have been on defense. They have a hard time stopping the 3-pointer, they don’t rotate well, and their pick-and-roll defense has been atrocious.

Portland ranks in the bottom five in opponent points per-play for both pick-and-roll ball handlers and roll men according to NBA.com, and recently we saw Terry Stotts throw out a few wrinkles to try and curb that.

And, by gum, it worked! Sort of.

The Trail Blazers were able to slow the No. 1 offense in the NBA, pushing the Raptors well below their season average in efficiency during a close loss on Monday, 95-91.

On Wednesday, the Blazers mixed it up again, this time applying specific techniques in hybrid fashion as they stopped a six-game losing streak with a 102-89 win over the Sacramento Kings.

This week’s breakdown covers an important topic, and that’s Portland’s pick-and-roll defense, how it’s changed recently, and what we might expect to see from Terry Stotts in the future if it proves to be successful moving ahead:

Topics in the video above include:

• Portland’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad defense.
• The switch in tactics against the Raptors.
• A reminder that you don’t have to watch JJ Hickson play basketball anymore.
• An idea of what Stotts could do for gameplans from here on out.

If you want to have your idea turned into a video like this one, drop me a line in the comment section or hit me up on on Twitter or on Facebook to make a suggestion for a breakdown or subject.

If you want to gain first access to my videos you can subscribe to my YouTube channel here.

Blazer’s Edge Night 2017

Want to assist us in sending 2,000+ underprivileged Portland-area kids to a Trail Blazers game this spring? Check out Blazer’s Edge Night 2017 for information on how to get involved, and help spread the word!