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Portland Trail Blazers: 3 bold predictions for 2018-19 NBA season

By Simon Smith

LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 30: Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers and CJ McCollum #3 of the Portland Trail Blazers during the national anthem before the game against the LA Clippers on January 30, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 30: Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers and CJ McCollum #3 of the Portland Trail Blazers during the national anthem before the game against the LA Clippers on January 30, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)
(Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images) /

3. Blazers to finish in the bottom 10 in defensive rating

This may seem a stretch, given that the Blazers finished eighth overall last season with a 104.2 defensive rating, their best return since 2014-15. Furthermore, they finished off the regular season in fine fashion, recording the fourth-best return after the All-Star break at 102.2.

However, things took a turn for the worse in the playoffs. Despite the postseason typically being a period when the game slows down and scoring is at a premium, the Blazers were simply found wanting at the defensive end of the floor. Over their four-game series against the Pelicans, the Blazers returned a 114.7 rating, which ranked dead last out of all 16 teams that competed in the postseason.

Naturally, matching up against superstar Anthony Davis is incredibly tough for any opposing defense. However, some of the numbers were quite alarming. Having ranked third in the league during the regular season in allowing just 42.1 points per game in the paint, the Blazers leaked an ugly 54 points per game in the postseason, ranking dead last among all teams.

Tying in with Davis’ impact, another area in which they were smashed was their pick-and-roll coverage. Over the regular season, the Blazers ranked sixth in allowing just 1.03 points per possession on pick-and-roll roll man coverage.  However, against the Pelicans, this number exploded to 1.53 points per possession, with New Orleans shooting at a sizzling 70.4 percent clip on such plays.

Granted, this largely involved covering Davis, and clearly not every team in the league has a weapon such as him. However given these stark differences between the regular and postseason, there’s no reason to believe the Blazers aren’t going to confront a host of teams looking to exploit them in a similar manner.

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