Portland Trail Blazers X's & O's
A dive into the Trail Blazers offensive sets & defensive scheme that has led them to a 4-0 start.
Dame Time after a late push against the Lakers. Simons 22 points in the 3rd vs Denver. Late game magic from Simons against the Suns. A comeback fight against the Kings in the opener. The Trail Blazers are 4-0 and 1st in the NBA and rolling with a MUCH improved defense. In this breakdown, we are going to look at some of their offensive sets, X’s & O’s, and what they are doing on defense to take other teams best sets away.
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Note: I am not going to dive into too many stats since 4 game sample size is not enough information.
An encouraging stat I am referencing and paying attention to is the small ball lineups - so far are +26.7 in 30 possessions, not nearly enough time to make a definitive statement but Winslow at center has been a fantastic move and something to keep an eye on.
Early Offense
In early offense, the Trail Blazers look for a couple of quick-hitting actions but mainly this is focused around Drag ball screens for Dame & Ant.
They do have the option to look for skips, slot attacks and occasionaly Grant in post up situations if he has an early cross match and the advantage in the post.
One of the things I love about Dame is when Simons had it going they went right into Wide action, a screen for him in early offense in the middle of the floor.
The Trail Blazers call this action “Quick” for a quick screen in the middle of the floor.
Spread Ballscreen Attack
As I mentioned above, the Trail Blazers’ primary form of attack is going to be going to Dame & Simons in spread pick-and-roll action - although they are making it a priority to get Dame off the ball more this year.
Last season the Trail Blazers’ possessions ended in a ball screen 31% of the time and they are exactly the same so far this year, finding a good balance between Simons and Dame splitting the handling duties.
They have also used Grant to screen for Dame, looking for short roll opportunities and getting two on the ball to create an advantage.
Double Fist “77” Playcall
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