Defense and bench depth — the two glaring weaknesses that sent the Portland Trail Blazers’ record into a free-fall during the second half of last year.
Just when we thought — 20-some odd games into this season — the sample size was large enough to declare the Trail Blazers free of their past hindrances, their short-lived improvements has been followed by a week of relapse.
More specifically, in the two losses the Blazers suffered this past week, their glaring flaws reared back its ugly head.
Against the young, and admittedly, rebuilding Minnesota Timberwolves, the Blazers — as cliché as it may sound — played down to their competition.
During the game, their lethargic and stagnant offense produced only 89.9 points per 100 possessions, shooting an abysmal 38.8 percent from the field with an eFG% of 45.0 percent — almost 6 percent lower than their season average.
Minnesota repeatedly sent hard doubles at LaMarcus Aldridge the entire game and held the all-star big man to only 10 points on 14 shots — but, the Blazers couldn’t capitalize as they were sloppy with their passes and wilted under the gambling/scrappy defense of the young Wolves.
Consequently, the Blazers yielded 20 turnovers — substantially higher than the 13.8 turnovers per game the team currently averages — which, in turn, produced 20 of Minnesota’s 90 total points.
After their disappointing performance against the undermanned Timberwolves, the Trail Blazers looked to bounce back against the Chicago Bulls — a team with similar championship aspirations. The Blazers — and, in particular, Aldridge — came out blazing (pun intended), scoring 21 first quarter points.
Despite the barrage of mid-range jumpers reined in by Aldridge, the Bulls only trailed by 4 after the first quarter as Derrick Rose made the Blazers’ top-10 defense look vulnerable by ambushing Portland with his signature floaters.
Specifically, the Blazers simply could not keep Rose within the 16-23 feet range off of the high pick-and-roll, instead allowing the former-MVP to delve into the 10-16 feet area — a long lingering problem with the team’s defensive coverage — thus, giving up a bevy of high percentage looks.
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More alarmingly, when the teams’ respective benches clashed during the start of the 2nd quarter, the Bulls quickly went on a 23-5 run and created a double-digit lead — a lead Chicago would not relinquish.
Despite the offensive output given by backup center Chris Kaman this season, his faults were in full display during their loss to the Bulls. Most notably, Bulls’ backup guard Aaron Brooks was able to repeatedly attack the basket without much resistance, while the two were on the court together.
By the end of the game, much like the season prior, the Blazers’ bench and defense had failed them. Not only did their bench get severely outplayed, but Portland’s defense also gave up a Defensive Rating of 127.7 as the Blazers suffered a 115-106 defeat last Friday.
As well, even though Damian Lillard was able to match point-for-point with the MVP-version of Rose, and Aldridge was in heat-check mode for the entirety of the first and third quarters, the two combined for only seven free throw attempts despite scoring 70 points.
Their lack of free throws and shot attempts at-the-rim should be a major concern for Terry Stotts and his coaching staff — especially since the Trail Blazers are not producing the type of offensive efficacy as they did last year — thus, making the sustainability of their top-ranked defense that much more important.
In fact, the Blazers are scoring almost three points less per 100 possessions than they did the year prior. Reason being? The Blazers simply do not create enough easy opportunities.
Particularly, the Blazers are currently 26th in points-in the paint and 28th in free throw attempts — whereas, last season, the Blazers still scored at an anemic rate in the paint and ranked 26th in paint points, but they counteracted that by shooting the 13th most free throw attempts.
Additionally, the Blazers are 26th in fast break points, 27th in the percentage of shots at-the-rim, and 29th in opponent turnovers.
When watching the Blazers, it seems as though the team is drifting further and further away from the rim with each passing season with Stotts at the helm. In particular, Aldridge has become much more perimeter-oriented under the Stotts’ regime.
Interestingly, Aldridge shot 31.6 percent of his shots at-the-rim during the ’11 and ’12 seasons under ex-Blazers’ head coach, Nate McMillan. However, over the past three seasons — under Stotts — Aldridge is only attempting 18.6 percent of his shots at the rim, and in addition, his percentage of shots at the rim has plummeted for consecutive seasons since 2011.
This year, Aldridge is scoring his usual 22.2 PPG, but on a rather inefficient 51.3 TS% — which is significantly lower than what the other elite Power Forwards, such as Anthony Davis, Blake Griffin, Dirk Nowitzki, and Chris Bosh, are producing in the NBA this season.
So, while the Blazers showed immense improvements during the first quarter of the season, they have officially hit their first rough patch. But, their problems are certainly fixable – more attempts-at-the rim, contain the opposing team’s initial pick-and-roll action, and a shortened bench could be the quick remedies the Blazers need to alleviate their current slew of problems.
Ready or not, the tests will keep coming as the Blazers will face the Rockets, Pelicans, and Thunder in a three-day span. Let the avalanche of overreactions continue!