Portland Trail Blazers: 3-Point Shooting Is Key
The Portland Trail Blazers were an offensive juggernaut last season. The Trail Blazers needed to be, with their defense being as bad as it was the past two seasons, offense needed to take charge for the Blazers to be successful. And they definitely went that route, finishing fourth in the NBA in points scored with 106.7.
The Blazers were clearly a team powered by their amazing offensive prowess.
How could they not be? Led by Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge, the Trail Blazers weren’t built to be defensive stoppers. The team hardly has anybody that can play defense at an elite level. Nicolas Batum is the team’s only good defensive presence.
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Although Batum tries hard enough, he isn’t a shut down defender and can’t always put the clamps on an elite offensive player. There’s no other way to go for the Blazers. Their style encourages offensive play over defensive play and they play that to a tee.
The Blazers have a slight problem on the offensive end. They rely on Aldridge to be able to create one on one offense a lot. That would be fine if he was taking high percentage shots in the low post. Instead, 40% of Aldridge’s shots come in the form of mid-range jumpers.
Mid-range jump shots are possibly the most inefficient type of jumpers to take, especially when they are contested.
When they aren’t feeding Aldridge 18 feet away from the basket, the Blazers are usually taking 3-pointers. And that will be the key to the Trail Blazers offense. With the Blazers being third in 3-pointers attempted but only 10th in percentage from deep last season, it’s clear the Blazers have some room for improvement.
It’s important for the Trail Blazers to improve their deep stroke for a variety of reasons. For one, if they were to improve, the offense would be in tip top efficiency. After all, it’s tough to beat a team that can hit 40 percent of their 3-pointers night in and night out. And second, better outside shooting will provide open driving and passing lanes.
The Trail Blazers need to rely less on Aldridge’s ability to hit long 2-pointers and more on their ability to hit the 3. Hitting the 3-point shot at a higher level will stretch out the defense a lot more than long 2-pointers, while making the team’s offense more potent.
With the defense running to close out the 3, the Blazers can run wild in the paint, getting easy baskets in the paint. And that will be key.
The 3-point shot will open up the game for the Blazers so they can improve their looks within the 3-point line. After all, isn’t it better to get a shot at the rim than a mid-
range jumper? Two points are two points, and it’s better for the team if they can shoot a high percentage shot than a low percentage one.
The three point shot is important because it snowballs into an offensive avalanche that is extremely hard to stop. The first step is to stop taking contested mid-range jumpers. The new school thinking of basketball is: 3-pointers, layups and free throws. And the flood gates open when the team is shooting the 3 well.