National Basketball Association

Trail Blazers: Room to grow in Transition Offense

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Trail Blazers could add to their potent offense by finding more baskets in transition this coming season.

While the Trail Blazers offense is far from broken, there are still ways for it to become more efficient. One idea has already surfaced early on in training camp, as Paul Allen (owner) mentioned that the team might get out and run a little bit more this year. It may come as a surprise to some fans, but Portland has a lot of room to grow when it comes to transition offense.

After looking at the numbers, the Trail Blazers only finished ahead of nine other teams when it comes to scoring points on the break. Meanwhile, the Warriors and Thunder finished inside the top five for points scored in transition. Increasing the number of transition baskets would also help Portland in their pace numbers (possessions per 48 minutes), as they finished just outside the top ten in 2015-16 (numbers courtesy of NBA.com).

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Creating turnovers on defense is one way a team can increase their fast break opportunities, but that might be a tough hill to climb inside of Terry Stotts’ conservative scheme. Even if the Trail Blazers continue their same defensive approach, the addition of Evan Turner could add a spark in transition.

Turner played in a Celtics’ offense that finished in the top ten in both pace and transition scoring. Allowing Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum to get down the court quicker without having to handle the ball could open up an abundance of high percentage looks for Portland’s dynamic backcourt tandem. Having Mason Plumlee in the lineup will also give Stotts another reliable option when it comes to handling the ball.

The pieces are in place for the Trail Blazers to become one of the better transition teams in the league, but tightening their defense will have to be the main catalyst for the improvement. Having four solid ball handlers on the court will be of little use unless they are able to come up with stops. If Portland does manage to find a way to create more opportunities in transition they could easily climb into the top five for team points per game.

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