The Portland Trail Blazers’ greatest achievement last season was building a formidable defensive identity. It wasn’t very long ago that the Blazers were among the worst defensive teams in the NBA, but by the end of last season, Portland played like a top 10 defense. In fact, during the second half of the regular season, the Blazers ranked third in defensive rating. Yes, you can take that with a few grains of salt; opponents matter and clearly some players on other teams were more interested in booking resort reservations than playing the Blazers in April. Plus, there was some opponent three-point variance help at play.
How Does Damian Lillard’s Defense Impact the Blazers’ Ceiling?
