nothing portland trailblazers What you do during training camp should be considered more important than improving the defense that was the worst in the NBA last season.
so far, coach Chauncey Billups During practice at the University of California, Santa Barbara, I saw signs of a potentially good defensive team.
“Players are locked down defensively,” he said. “Obviously a lot of mistakes have been made based solely on coverage and communication. Normal stuff that every team makes. But yeah, there are a lot of players here who enjoy playing defense.”
The team’s top two players, Damien Lillard and Anfanie Simmons, are only capable of winning in the backcourt if the rest of the team makes up for their lack of defense and allows the two to close out the win on offense. Can work as a combination.
As such, it’s essential to have a large pool of players willing to put effort into defense. Billups was a defensively-minded point guard in Detroit when he played as his guard and embraced defense. contributed to
These Blazers aren’t to be confused with that team, but they seem to have more defensively oriented players than in recent years.
Guard/forward Josh Hart and forward Justice Winslow, who were acquired in last season’s trades, were identified by Billups as desirable defenders.Team traded forward Jerami Grant to sign free-agent guard Gary Payton IIWithout their ability to play high-end defense, they wouldn’t be in Portland.
Billups will have four new faces to work with alongside forward Nasir Little, one of the best defensive players on the team last season.
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Portland Trail Blazers Practice Sept. 30, 2022
according to defense FiveThirtyEight.comWinslow (+1.8), Little (+1.3) and Hart (-0.1) were three of the Blazers’ best-five ratings last season.
Weaving them around Nurkic (plus 3.4) gives the Blazers something to brew on defense.
Grant (-0.7) had negative ratings with Detroit last season, but has had positive ratings with better teams in the past. Payton (plus 4.6), on the other hand, had his ninth-best defensive rating in his NBA last season.
The trick here is to put these pieces together on the same page and work together as a unit. Billups said the team is further ahead than when the Blazers entered training camp last season, with so many players already introduced to his concept and expectations.
“Most of our vets know a lot,” Billups said. just peel it off.”
Billups said even young players are growing rapidly.
“We introduced some stuff in Summer League,” Billups said. “They were really impressive.”
Among them is rookie Shadon Sharpe, who excels on defense early in camp due to his athleticism.
“I think he’s one of those guys who can be athletic on both ends of the floor,” Billups said. “He’s really long. He’s an incredible shot blocker already. He’s never out of play. He goes and sees everybody in the square. That’s about it.”
Being in the right position all the time is another story. At 19, Sharp has a lot to learn.
“Everything is new to him,” Billups said. “But as he gets more familiar, he’ll be a very good defender.”
According to Peyton, some of the young players can definitely help the Blazers become a deep defensive team.
“I think if you can get them mentally defensive, you can put a lot of pieces together,” Peyton said. there are a lot of.”
Portland Trail Blazers forward Justice Winslow, 26, faces forward Memphis Grizzlies guard Tyus Jones, 21, during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Memphis, Tennessee, Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022. looks to pass Brandon Clarke (15). (AP Photo/Brandon Dill) APAPs
Billups has repeatedly said surrounding Lillard and Simmons’ starting backcourt with quality defenders will be a goal to offset their weaknesses in that area.
However, both need improvement in that respect. Simmons, who said he’s committed to being a better defender, earned a minus-2.5 rating last season, while Lillard finished minus-1.6 in just his 29 games. That came despite battling a core muscle injury that ultimately led to surgery and the end of his season in January. seemed to be working on improvements.
Roster diversity should help Billups fit into different groups around Lillard and Simmons and better match up with opposing teams.
Winslow said the Blazers have a small-ball, defensively oriented line-up with great diversity, including the ability to center either of Trendon-Watford’s Grant.
“There are a lot of guys on the defensive end who actually wear hats,” said Winslow. “So I don’t think defense is going to be an issue for those units. Maybe offense, more so. I think we can use it to our advantage, and we can really go after it on the defensive end.”
With a goal of building a competitive culture, Billups requires players to care about their defensive play and really “get it done.”
“You need a lot of guts when you play,” he said. “When you play, you have to be able to compete whenever they’re there. And nobody likes playing against a team like that.”
The main problem last season was the lack of roster size. The Blazers added Grant, who stands 6-8, but Robert Covington also saw him lose 6-7. Payton is 6-3, Sharp is 6-6.
Billups and general manager Joe Cronin said it would be difficult to add all the elements the Blazers need in one offseason. First and foremost, they want to add the best players available.
“This league is difficult,” said Billups. “It’s hard to get good. It’s hard to get the players you want all the time. But I like all the players we have. They all do different things, and I’m pretty sure if they beat us this year, they’ll get it.And I can live with that.
After all, the Blazers probably won’t be an elite defenseman this season. They ranked last in ERA in the 2021-22 season (117.9). It certainly has to go down, but Billups said he hasn’t set a statistical target.
“If you’re competing in that regard, I think you just drop chips everywhere,” he said. “I’m not going to say, ‘You have to be in the top 10.’ You can be 12 and have a great season and be like, ‘Damn, you’re not in the top 10.'” I don’t like doing that. . But we all know we can’t be where we were. “
— Aaron Fentress reported from Santa Barbara, CA.
— Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @Aaron Fentress (Facebook).
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