Portland qualified for the playoffs for the 7th season in a row but this time they needed to make an extra effort as they had to beat Memphis in a decisive game to do it. They upset the Lakers in the first game of the first round but then they lost the following four games due to their inability to defend. They limited the Lakers to 93 points in the first game but then, the LA team scored 111, 116, 135 and 131 points in the following games.
Portland was the worst defensive team among the playoffs teams last season. They were tied with Atlanta as the #3 worst defensive team in the entire league. The early season injury of Zach Collins created a big hole at the PF position while Nurkic missed the entire pre-bubble regular season. These two players are positive net defensive players, so their absences were the key for Portland’s defensive struggles last season.
Whiteside’s lack of mobility and intensity, Carmelo being a full time starter and Lillard and McCollum forming an undersized backcourt were also reasons why Portland was unable to be even an average defensive team.
For this season, Portland decided to improve their defensive shortcomings. As expected, they said goodbye to Whiteside. Melo (likely) was sent to the bench and they added Robert Covington and Derrick Jones Jr. to give them a defensive boost at the forward position. The idea is to recreate what Harkless and Aminu gave them for several seasons: cover the best opposing offensive players while adding some perimeter shooting as well.
A healthy Jusuf Nurkic is also a huge boost for this team. His level of play in the bubble after his long injury layoff was remarkable: 17.6 ppg for 49.5% FG, 10.3 rebounds per game, 4 assists per game and 2 blocks per game. This production level is All Star worthy and naturally, Nurkic, Lillard and McCollum will make Portland a playoff bound team once again.
However, how high is Portland’s ceiling? Rodney Hood and Zach Collins are still nursing injuries and they might miss the start of the season. If both of them manage to comeback at a good level, Portland will have good depth. Enes Kanter will also give them a good inside presence and solid minutes off the bench while Gary Trent Jr. showed some good offensive production during the bubble as well.
If everything goes well for them, Portland will be able to fight for homecourt edge in the first round of the playoffs. This is their regular season goal, while they hope to be an average defensive unit and continue to be one of the best offensive teams in the league (ranked #3 in the last two seasons).