We're seeing the best Blazers team of the Dame era - and it isn't because of Dame's offence
How Portland has gotten off to a surprising 10-4 start thanks to...their defence
Damian Lillard has often been compared to Stephen Curry.
The 2 do share some common traits; both are superstar point guards. Both have remained loyal to one franchise for the duration of their careers. Both have accelerated the NBA's 3-point revolution with their incandescent deep-range shooting.
That said, the two have never really been the same caliber of player, and haven’t been viewed as such by anyone residing outside of Oregon. There are many logical reasons for why Curry is the superior player; His scoring is all time great, Lillard's is merely elite. Ditto for their respective playmaking abilities. Curry is also a passable defender whereas Lillard has always been a negative.
Those rational, basketball related reasons aren't always the deciding factor for many, however. Rather, you can expect the following factoids to appear in any Curry/Lillard debate:
- Curry has 4 rings, Lillard 0
- Curry and Lillard have faced each other in 10 playoff games. Curry's team has won all 10
Many Blazers fans will contend that such a disparity in team success can be attributed to the Jekyll-and-Hyde difference in their respective supporting casts. That Curry has always had championship level rosters while Portland has perennially failed to surround their superstar point guard with the same level of talent. And really? While Curry is the superior player regardless, there's certainly truth to such sentiments.
Curry has played his entire prime with a backcourt partner capable of shooting the lights out *and* covering for him on defence; Lillard's has only been able to do the former, and to an appreciably lesser extent. Curry has also played his entire prime with the single most destructive defensive presence of his era that can also capitalise on each and every one of his created advantages; Lillard would’ve done anything to play alongside anyone half of that.
As a result, Lillard's Portland teams (outside of the 2014-15 team that was led by Aldridge) have been rather pedestrian for the most part. Even when they pieced together a conference finals run in 2019, they did so with a roster that had no business advancing playoff rounds; Their starting frontcourt consisted of Maurice Harkless, Al Farouq Aminu, and Enes Kanter. Durant, Iguodala, and Green, they are not.
This season, that appears to have finally changed for the better. It's unclear whether Portland can achieve another lengthy playoff run; the league may or may not be too loaded for that. But at long last, Portland's front office has shown an attempt to do what their fans have always pleaded for - surround Lillard with lengthy, two-way wings to patch up the team’s holes (namely defence and reliability sans Dame) and allow Lillard’s (and backcourt partner McCollum, now Simons) offensive brilliance to guide them to the promised land.
The initial return has been a 10-4 start.
Defence, Defence, Defence…
To say Portland’s defence has been underwhelming in recent years would be painfully understating it. Lillard’s previous 2 healthy seasons saw Portland finish 28th and 29th respectively in defensive rating - despite all-league defender Robert Covington’s efforts in 2021 - and last season, they finished dead last in defensive efficiency even after a coaching revamp.
Really, such disappointing defensive results shouldn’t shock anyone. Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum made up one of the least-resistant defensive backcourts in the association, and Anfernee Simons is no better. Carmelo Anthony’s ever-lasting ability to shoot the lights out on occasion has been completely canceled out by his matador defence in recent years, Enes Kanter is impossible to be a good defence with. Jusuf Nurkic was once an impact defender, but injuries robbed him of the movement he once had and Billups utilized him incorrectly last year (more on that later). They lacked the personnel to defend at an adequate level, and added fuel to the fire by implementing coverages that proved to be less-than-ideal given their personnel. Pretty easy to understand why they were stuck in defensive purgatory for years, when put that way.
This season, their defence has been night-and-day in contrast to their past showings. Through what is close to a month of NBA basketball now, Portland has been one of the five most ungiving defences in the league. Their defensive rating sits at 109.4, which is just south of 3 points better than league average and trails that of only the Bucks, Cavaliers, Clippers, and Suns - all renowned defensive units. Their problems in the backcourt haven’t changed with Lillard and Simons starting, and neither has the fact that Nurkic is their starting center and Billups is their head coach. But everything else has, and for that you can largely thank their newly acquired wings. 3 of them to be precise.
Jerami Grant: The Denver and Detroit (Grant’s past 2 stops prior to becoming a Blazer) versions of Grant could not have been more different; the Denver version was an energetic, versatile defensive forward, the best defender on a conference finalist, but a player with limited offensive juice. The Detroit version on the other hand, was a high-volume scorer for tanking Pistons teams whose spike in offensive production came at the expense of his once-impressive defence.
The Portland version? Let’s just say has been the best of both worlds.
He has continued to showcase his offensive improvements, averaging around 19 points per contest even in a reduced on-ball role. But what’s really worth noting is that this year, Grant has rediscovered his defensive commitment from 3 seasons ago. He is using his athletic gifts and lengthy 7’3” wingspan to smother enemy initiators at the point-of-attack (though he isn’t going to put on a defensive clinic if matched up with a jitterbug like De’Aaron Fox), often assuming the challenge of defending the opposition’s offensive focal point. This has caused problems for several of the star guards that Portland has faced so far this season, and fits like a glove next to starting center Jusuf Nurkic.
But Grant’s defensive prowess isn’t limited to point-of-attack defence. Hell, that isn’t his strongest quality on defence; that would be his weakside rim protection. Grant combines top-shelf athleticism with a colossal 7’3” wingspan, which makes him a viable threat to come out of nowhere and erase shots at any juncture of the game. He can toggle between on-ball and off-ball roles on D, and that’s especially valuable to this Blazers team. This type of role-flexibility was a key ingredient to his defensive success in Denver and Oklahoma City. It’s on display once again in Portland.
In short, Grant has been perhaps the most impactful defender for one of the five stingiest defences in the league to begin the season. He has returned to his Denver/OKC self on that end. His game features the luxury of being able to serve as both an on-ball stopper and a weakside helper, providing Portland with something they desperately need if they’re to mask Nurkic’s deficiencies. He has been excellent, no two ways about it.
Josh Hart: Josh Hart is really the prototypical role player. He doesn’t excel at one particular aspect of basketball, and won’t drop your jaw with eye-popping box score stats. But when he’s on the floor, he always seems to be making the right basketball play. He does all the little things that help teams grind out wins. That is especially true on the defensive side of the ball.
Different from most 6’5” wings, Hart makes his money through textbook help defence. Sharp interior rotations that completely blow up actions aren’t commonplace for shooting guards, especially if they aren’t jump-out-of-the-gym athletes. But Hart manages. He makes defensive plays of that nature on a night-to-night basis.
Additionally, he’s one of the very best non-big rebounders in the league. That’s no hyperbole; This season, Hart is averaging 8.9 rebounds per game, with a staggering 7.2 of them coming on the defensive end. Such rebounding ability is a great luxury for a relatively undersized team to have, and has allowed Hart to play (and thrive with) an estimated 40% of his minutes at the small forward spot (as opposed to shooting guard).
Justise Winslow: Winslow hasn’t panned out as a pro the way some once expected. Just ask any Miami Heat fan. But his struggles in the big leagues have been (no) thanks to his offensive shortcomings. His defence has never been the issue, far from it. Winslow has always been a stout wing defender, a multifaceted stopper who brings valuable versatility and a myriad of defensive qualities to any defence.
That has never been clearer than it has been this year.
What makes Winslow’s defence has impressive as it is, is his ability to effectively switch across the board. He is more than comfortable switching onto a small on the perimeter yet can also battle back-to-the-basket bigs in a pinch. That he can act as a staunch wing stopper capable of suffocating all star forwards should go without saying. He can play - not merely defend in spurts - a number of positions and roles, even being a viable option as a small-ball 5 when it’s demanded of him. Multiple high-level creators have had uneasy nights vs Portland, and the Grant/Winslow combination has been chief among the reasons why.
Justise is also a stud in passing lanes, in addition to his on-ball switchability. So far this season, he has posted a steal rate of 2.4%, garnering 1.3 of them per game in just 26 minutes of action. For some perspective, that of Jimmy Butler, the best passing lane defender this sport has ever seen (you know I had to), stands at 2.7% (and is generally within that range). His length at 6’10” in wingspan is bothersome, his hustle undeniable. He defends with maximum effort almost every play he’s out there, and it pays dividends.
But that is not all…
I can’t say that these wings, as valuable as they’ve been, are the sole reason for Portland’s defensive renaissance - there have also been crucial coaching decisions.
As I briefly touched on earlier, coach Billups was misusing Jusuf Nurkic last season. Billups had the Bosnian giant aggressively blitzing every pick-and-roll, and to mixed results. Portland was often put into rotation - the last thing a defence wants - and Nurkic simply did not possess the agility necessary to recover following the blitz.
This season, that has not been the case. Rather than forcing Nurkic to (attempt to) play the most aggressive pick-and-roll coverage there is, Billups has been a bit more conservative in how he uses his 7-footer. He’s realised that the less Nurkic has to move, the better it is for Portland. Nurkic has thus been used at the level, or in drop coverage, with Portland’s bevy of wings filling in the driving gaps. Here’s a standard Portland defensive possession showcasing just that:
Portland’s cohesion through various defensive schemes has also really stood out to me. This season (and in recent seasons), we’ve seen an influx of zone usage amongst various defences (most notably the Miami Heat). Teams do this in an attempt to catch the opposing offence off-guard, to mix things up and force enemy offensive players to play over their head. The Blazers have been one of those teams.
Tune into a Blazers game, and you’ll more than likely catch a possession or two (probably more) in which they’re flustering the opposition through their zone defence. They’ll pull out the zone without notice for random possessions in a given game, and such adjustments often take enemy offences out of rhythm. When it’s unleashed, their length, activity, and togetherness makes it so offensive decisions become less black-and-white than they otherwise would be.
All in all, Portland has been defending at a level they never before have in the Dame era. They feature a multitude of versatile, high-motored wings that hold together what has been a top-6 defence to kick off the 2022-23 season. They defend on a string and shrink the court like only so many other teams do. Head coach Chauncey Billups has been doing a commendable job after a rookie season that had many wondering what the hell the guy was thinking.
And get this: They’re still awaiting the return of this guy:
Of course, Damian Lillard’s logo-range marksmanship remains the hallmark of the Trail Blazers. It always will be. Dame is one of the greatest offensive players to ever step foot on an NBA court, and he’s proving that with nuclear offensive production in the games he’s played this year after an injury-riddled 2022 season. He has been the offensive superstar he was the last time he was healthy, a drop coverage killer of the highest degree.
But make no mistake about it - Portland’s newfound defensive prowess has been the difference between another season of league-average play that begs the tedious “When is Dame gonna be traded?” queries and a start that has the team atop the West standings and their fans as giddy as can be. And given that very few individuals were high on Portland heading into the season, it has been pleasing to witness.