Portland Trail Blazers: Offense key to team’s home improvement
The Portland Trail Blazers have made a huge turnaround in home games since Christmas. What has been the key to their success?
The Portland Trail Blazers are gearing up to play the New York Knicks Tuesday night at Moda Center. They do so after pulling off a comeback victory over the Los Angeles Lakers the night before.
Portland picked up its seventh consecutive victory by beating L.A., extending their longest winning stretch of the season. Obviously, they want to prolong that run on Tuesday, but they also enter the Knicks game maintaining another impressive streak.
The Trail Blazers have won 13 of their last 14 home games. This streak began on Dec. 28 with a 114-110 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. Oddly enough, the Blazers and Sixers are tied with the Minnesota Timberwolves for the best home record in the NBA since that date.
Rip City’s fortunes come after starting the season 7-10 at home. That contrasted with the 9-6 road record they had over the same span. This period included a 104-103 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers that was settled by a Blake Griffin game-winner and a 99-85 defeat against the Toronto Raptors that saw them score a franchise-low six points in the second quarter.
The roughest part of that stretch started at the end of November. The Blazers reeled off six straight home losses from Nov. 30 through Dec. 22. This includes going 0-4 on a four-game home-stand, losing by 10 points per game. The slump culminated with a 102-85 loss to the Denver Nuggets. The Sixers game followed six days later.
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Basically, offensive improvement has been the key to Portland’s turnaround at home. Their net rating between stints indicates that. The Blazers had a -2.3 net rating in their first 17 home games, 22nd-best in the NBA over that span. Specifically, they scored 102.1 points per 100 possessions while allowing 104.4.
Since then, the Blazers are sporting a +7.9 net rating at home, sixth-best in the league. Their offense has spiked up to 112.7 points per 100 possessions. Meanwhile their defense has held steady, allowing 104.8 points per 100 possessions.
Rip City’s field goal percentage jumped from 44.1 percent in their first 17 home games (25th in the NBA) to 48.2 percent over their last 14 (eighth in the NBA). Pat Connaughton has seen the biggest bump in shooting at home, improving 10.7 percent between stints. However, NBA teams go as the star does. Damian Lillard‘s improvement was the biggest driver behind the Blazers’ turnaround at home.
Lillard struggled mightily with his shooting early in the home schedule. Appearing in 16 of the first 17 home games, he shot 40.8 percent from the field and 33.6 percent from beyond the arc. Those struggles rattled Blazers Nation, leaving some to speculate his new diet was the source of his problems.
Luckily, those concerns have become a thing of the past. Lillard has appeared in 12 of the last 14 home games, including the last 11. He is shooting 46.7 percent from the field and 39.0 percent from 3-point range over that span.
His jump shooting has been the difference. Lillard made only 35.3 percent of his jumpers in his first 16 home games, but has made 43.1 percent of them in his last 12. As a result, Lillard has scored 30 points or more six times in his last 12 home games. That includes a 44-point outburst in a huge 123-117 win on national television over the Golden State Warriors.
The Knicks game kicks off a five-game homestand and a span of seven home dates in eight games. After Tuesday though, some of the league’s elite will test the Blazers’ home prowess over the next two weeks.
After New York, Portland has a rematch with the Warriors on March 9. That will be followed by the games against the Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons. Following a quick visit to the Clippers, Portland will then host the Houston Rockets and end with the Boston Celtics on March 23.
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The Portland Trail Blazers have turned things around on offense over the course of the season. As a result, they’ve sent plenty of their fans home happy by going 13-1 over their last 14 home games. However, six of their next seven home games will be major tests against playoff contenders. With the way the Blazers have played lately, they are certainly up for the challenge.