NBA analysts have few, if any, words to spare for the Portland Trail Blazers. Coming off a 36-win season with speculative, if notable, moves during the summer, the Blazers are expected to fall somewhere north of the league’s lottery winners, south of serious playoffs participation. But that’s not stopping David Thorpe of Truehoop from spending paragraphs on the Pacific Northwest’s finest. In a series covering the prospects of all 30 NBA franchises [subscription required], Thorpe puts Portland in a unique
category: not among the tankers, but still a year away from making the postseason. The Blazers rank above the Nets, Hornets, Jazz, and Wizards, but below everyone else in the league.
Explaining the reasoning behind his analysis, Thorpe first points at Portland’s offensive weaknesses:
It appears that the Trailblazers have learned how to play solid, sometimes outstanding, NBA defense. Wonderful.
Now, for this group to make inroads towards contention down the road, let’s talk about how they’re going to score.
Portland was a drive-heavy team a season ago, and finished 19th overall in passes per game. They were also one of the worst shooting teams in the NBA.
Thorpe suggests that the World Champion Oklahoma City Thunder exists on a shooting-free, drive-heavy diet of offense, but Portland lacks the individual talent to emulate them.
The Blazers have no one with that kind of iso-driving talent, even if Shaedon Sharpe continues to make progress as a shooter and scorer. And they don’t have a big man who can shoot like Chet Holmgren…
Instead Thorpe suggests that Portland draw inspiration from the Eastern Conference Champion Indiana Pacers, utilizing depth and motion to exhaust opponents.
…The Blazers’ roster would benefit from more random and stacking actions, passing and moving fluidly, possession after possession. They are a deep team; many of their backups are about as good as the starters. It’s perfect to have both 35-year-old Jrue Holiday and 21-year-old Scoot Henderson if your goal is to exhaust the opposing star guard. Toumani Camara and Deni Avdija are ideal for that high-octane style. The front office seems to love tinkering with a steady supply of chaos-creating wings like Kris Murray, Matisse Thybulle, and Rayan Rupert. The sheer number of bodies could pay off in a system like the Pacers’. More movement + aggressive and disciplined defense + lots of young and very athletic bodies = a very tired opponent. Portland is a perfect “Left Coast Blur Ball” candidate, only with a superior defensive upside than what we saw the last two years in Indiana.
What do you think? Could Portland become Indiana West? Do you think Thorpe is underrating the Blazers by placing them in the lower regions of the league? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
