The Trail Blazers poor defense continues to wash away solid offensive performances
Not since the 2008-2009 Sacramento Kings has the NBA seen a worse defense than the 2016-2017 Portland Trail Blazers over the first 30 games. Portland’s defensive rating, which is essentially an estimate of how many points per 100 possessions a team will give up, sits at 114.95. The Kings won 17 games total in 2008-2009.
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Analytics never tell the full story, especially in small sample sizes, but we’re now 37% of the way through the NBA season. This defense is very poor and is trending the wrong way.
Last night, DeMarcus ‘Boogie’ Cousins put on a show in Sacramento. It seemed Terry Stotts only defensive game-plan was to send a goon, in the form of Meyers Leonard, to bait Cousins into technical fouls. While Boogie did accumulate one technical (and nearly a second), the tactic ended up fueling a career night. In his now infamous post game rant, Cousins called out Stotts and Leonard for this tactic.
It’s not a good look for the Trail Blazers and quite frankly, it’s embarrassing.
The 126-121 loss erased an excellent performance from C.J. McCollum, as he went for 36 points. The loss marks the third straight game Portland allowed more than 125 points.
Fortunately for the Trail Blazers, the Dallas Mavericks are visiting the Moda Center tonight. The Mavericks offense is anemic this year, posting a rating of 103.3. It could be just the team to ignite a turnaround for the lowly Blazer defense.
How to Watch
Who: Dallas Mavericks @ Portland Trail Blazers
When: 7:00pm Pacific
TV: CSNNW or NBAtv
Radio: 620 AM
