A Sunday night in April Damien Lillard Striding on center court. It was a long walk. abdominal surgery Shutting him down in January, limiting him to a career-low 29 appearances. But once the spotlight fell on him again, the All-Star six-time NBA pick grabbed the mic, Moda looked up at the crowd in the stands at his center and made a promise.
Lillard: “Tough season, lots of adversity this year” Saidjust before a hint of a 31-point loss to close out the Trail Blazers’ worst campaign in almost 20 years“A lot of things have happened that we didn’t expect. .”
Coming into the season, it seemed reasonable to wonder if that was really the case. Anphanie Simmons Whether Dame’s return to the ball will allow him to resume his rise to offensive stardom, and how a Blazers team that has been largely underwhelmed over the past three seasons has become brutally competitive and increasingly deep. Whether or not he really had the firepower to regain his place in the Western Conference it looked like.
Well, so far so good. One week into his season, every team in the West has been beaten… to exclude for blazers.
After beating the Kings in Sacramento on opening night, sands In overtime after Lillard offered Some Food for Free Throw Line Thinking Deandre Ayton and Beat wobbly lakers that’s why Dame Time is back in Hollywoodthe Blazers won two MVPs Nikola Jokic And the Nuggets — the team that inadvertently knocked Portland out of the 2021 playoffs — headed to the Pacific Northwest on Monday. Not a particularly warm welcome.
Portland bounces back from a 13-point deficit in the second quarter, attracting visitors 80 points Second half — the best post-break output in the franchise in 33 years — cruise to 135-110 winHaving struggled to make shots in the first three games of the season, Simmons practiced six 3-pointers in the third quarter and found the touch of scoring 22 of 29 points in five and a half minutes. burst. In the blink of an eye, the Blazers had the game wide open, heading into his 4-0 start in the first. since 1999.
Although Simons filled in the Nuggets in the third, it was Lillard who set the stage for him to do so. The Vets had 12 points or assists in the final four minutes of the second quarter to cut Denver’s lead to two possessions entering the second half. After that, he happily forced his feed into the young backcourt’s partner’s hot hand and assisted on four of his triples in Simmons’ game-breaking third quarter. Dame scored 31 points on 16 shots and in 34 minutes he had eight assists against one turnover. His fingertips covered every inch of the aggressive onslaught that saw the Blazers record a searing score. 145.2 points per 100 non-garbage time possessions Against the Nuggets — according to the most efficient offensive performance of the season so far glass cleaning.
Concerns over how Lillard, 32, will look after returning from surgery to repair core muscle problems reportedly haunted him for years It seems unfounded.He regained bursts, beat defenders off the bounce, put pressure on the rim, and averaged 14+ drives per gametook more shares of his shots at the basket than he did any of the last two seasonsand makes two-thirds of his attempts with paint(He’s also back on the line, averaging nine free-throw attempts per game, a career-high.) Equally important: Last season’s decline in long-range accuracy was a radar anomaly. Looks like a good blip. Recorded up to 40% backs from distance and led the NBA in first week attempts and completions.
As has been the case for the past decade, the Blazers’ best hopes to remain competitive night after night rest on Lillard playing at a level closer to the MVP he and the Portland followers have become accustomed to. increase.their best wishes are fightingbut surrounds Dame with enough defensive help to allow his offensive heroes to hold on…and early returns there have also been positive.
Chauncey Billups took the Blazers’ head coaching job last season, looking to turn the heat up and change the conservative defense for the better under his predecessor, Terry Stotts. frenzied attacking unitThat plan quickly blew right before his eyes, eventually producing enough arresting coverage and a wide-open-corner 3-pointer for the Blazers to defend a team in the NBA. second worst defense — just like they had Final season under Stotts.
Billups has tapped off on the ball pressure early in his second year — Portland managed just eight pick-and-rolls in their first four games after nearly eight pick-and-rolls, according to Second Spectrum tracking. Not doing rolls. per game Last season — in favor of a return to more conservative drop coverage intended to steer drivers into contested midrange looks Yusuf Nurkic Dive into the paint. So far, they have a roster that features more size and athleticism than the franchise has seen in years, and are top offseason goals. Jerami Grant (He also has a strong offensive start, averaging 17 points per game on .626 true shooting), Josh Hart’s holding up, Justice Winslow When Nasir Littlethe highly touted lottery’s Shadon Sharpe and former Clippers first-rounder Keone Johnson – held up the end of talks and entered Tuesday’s ranked game 10th in the NBA in defensive efficiencyeven the expected ace stopper Gary Payton II still he recovered from abdominal surgery.
it may be a bit I’m optimistic that that ranking will hold up.Based on the shot profile the Blazers gave up — look closely at the rim and corner threes — you expect opponents to shoot better than everif they start making more money 31.7% from short corners, Portland’s defensive rankings could sink. But overall, it looks like it has a stronger foundation than the previous season. A tighter, more disciplined shutout and a better contest for shot attempts.Top 5 marks on both Opponent Free Throw Rate and Defensive Rebound Rate.
There’s a recipe for it: keep the line up, help in the right place at the right time, raise your hand without fouling, crash the board, and complete possession. Consistent running isn’t exactly exotic, but if you have a baseline for size and athleticism that allows you to check in on the details more often than you otherwise would. should do it Can generate decent defense. Combine that with Top Flight’s offensive engine and you’ve got a team composition that not only makes the playoffs, but has the potential to do deep runs.
favorite Luka DoncicMavericks last season.or Trae YoungHawks in 2021. Or, speaking of which, the 2019 Lillard Blazers.It seems thisbut it could drastically change Portland’s outlook and, perhaps, fulfill its promise.
