Video: Why the Blazers Don’t Run Lillard-McCollum Pick and Roll

Welcome to a very special edition of Blossom...errr, the Blazer’s Edge Mailbag! Today’s question involves the pick and roll, the Portland Trail Blazers, and high-scoring guards CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard.

Hi Dave,

I was wondering if the Blazers could clear out and involve solely Dame and CJ in a high pick and roll with one another. How unstoppable could that be if they just practiced setting effective screens for one another? You could potentially spread the floor so there’d be only two defenders on their side and the defense would have a hard time covering both of them, wouldn’t they?

I’m sure there’s a reason but I don’t know enough on the x’s and o’s as to why you wouldn’t be able to do it.

Brad

Well, Brad, ask and ye shall receive. In honor of your question we’re bringing back a bit of nostalgia from the musty site attic: the infamous play-diagramming chessboard! It features some of your favorite literary characters dropping basketball knowledge with flair, all captured in the video version of the Mailbag. Enjoy!

P.S. For all you purists...yeah, we know. Gandalf has a super-magical roll. He is, after all, a wizard.

Keep those Mailbag Questions—video-friendly or otherwise—coming to blazersub@gmail.com!

—Dave blazersub@gmail.com / @Blazersedge / @DaveDeckard