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On the heels of a 24-point loss to the New York Knicks, the Portland Trail Blazers are focusing on defense. Casey Holdahl of the Blazers tweeted today that the team practiced “D” nearly exclusively on the day following the loss.
A number of players, including @Dame_Lillard, reference how good of a practice the team had today in D.C. Outside of after practice shooting, the entire focus was on defense.
— Casey Holdahl (@CHold) January 2, 2020
For reference, here’s where the 14-21 Blazers rank among 30 NBA teams in key defensive categories:
Opponent Points per Game —23rd (114.1)
Defensive Efficiency—20th (108.4)
Opponent Points in the Paint—15th (47.8)
Opponent Fast Break Points—16th (13.0)
Opponent Shooting Percentage—10th (44.5%)
Opponent Three-Point Percentage—18th (36.0%)
Opponent Effective Field Goal Percentage—11th (51.1%)
Opponent Free Throws Attempted per Game—28th (26.0)
Opponent Offensive Rebounding Percentage—26th (24.3%)
Opponent Turnovers per Possession—29th (.124)
Opponent Effective Possession Ratio*—30th (.986)
*Effective possession ratio measures possessions, adding offensive rebounds and subtracting turnovers, divided by total possessions. It shows the percentage of possessions in which the offensive team gets a scoring opportunity. The Chicago Bulls lead league defenses in this category, giving up a .925 ratio.
(All stats courtesy of teamrankings.com)