Neil Olshey Wants Blazers to Keep Up Defensive Success

The Portland Trail Blazers flipped the script last year by succeeding on the backs of an improved defense, rather than the offense carrying the team yet again. President of basketball operations Neil Olshey says that despite adding offensive-minded pieces, he wants the defense to stay at the level it showed last season, according to Dwight Jaynes of NBC Sports Northwest:

“Right now, I don’t think we’re as dialed in defensively as we were last season,” said Neil Olshey, the team’s president of basketball operations. “We’re trying to integrate new pieces. We’re trying to increase our three-point rate.”

Olshey highlighted the accountability that the team will be faced with:

“Our challenge was to add personnel who would give us a better chance at the offensive end, but we’re going to have to hold guys accountable at the defensive end.”

You can read more from Olshey’s outline of the season here.