The pick and roll is a staple of the game of basketball – it’s one of the first plays a young basketball player learns. Many of those childhood basketball tricks fade away at the higher level, but not the pick and roll. All 30 NBA teams use it on a game-by-game basis, especially the Portland Trail Blazers.
Last season, the Blazers ran 1,919 pick and rolls, 21.6% of their total possessions. Only the Atlanta Hawks ran more with 1,939.
Fortunately, the high volume correlated with success. Portland ranked second in points per possession for pick and rolls, trailing the Golden State Warriors by 0.