Portland Trailblazers 2022-23 Preview
Portland Trailblazers 2022-23 Preview
Dame returns, but the unknown of what Portland actually is brings up questions.
Welcome to the start of our 2022-23 previews for every NBA team! These breakdowns are designed to look at stats, film & anything I found interesting in my preparation for the upcoming NBA season.
If you liked this breakdown feel free to share it & if you want to show your support, consider becoming a paid subscriber - the 50% off sale for the preseason is back!
🗒️ Previous Breakdowns:
Rockets | Magic | Thunder | Pistons | Pacers | Trailblazers | Spurs | Wizards | Knicks Hawks | Clippers | Timberwolves | Cavs | Bulls | Raptors | 76ers | Nuggets | Bucks | Nets | Heat | Warriors | Suns | Celtics | Grizzlies
Note: if you are reading this in the e-mail-only form some of the gifs and videos do not always show up correctly. All stats taken from Cleaning the Glass.
Stats
Net Rating: -8.7 (29th)
Offensive Rating: 108.5 (27th)
Good
The Trailblazers did a solid job with offensive rebounding, ranking 15th in the NBA grabbing back 26% of their misses.
Bad & Ugly
Literally everything else is pretty brutal. Poor shooting, high turnovers & not generating a ton of free throws leads to really bad offense. The good news? Historically every offense under Damian Lillard has been in the top 10 so his return should help.
Defensive Rating: 117.2 (29th)
Good
Portland’s aggressive scheme did create some turnovers that led them to ranking 11th in the NBA in defensive TOV%. However, this defensive scheme did lead to a lot more breakdowns on the back end, and one of the reasons their defense was poor overall.
Breakdown: Can Aggressive Ballscreen Defense Still Work In The NBA?
Bad
Just like most good offensive rebounding teams, this is one of the better areas for the Trail Blazers - although better is a relative term. They finished the season ranking 19th in the NBA allowing opponents to rebound back 26.5% of their misses.
Ugly
The worst team in the NBA when it comes to eFG% pretty much means your defense is going to be terrible, combined with fouling a lot trying to force turnovers and you find yourself with one of the worst defenses in the NBA.
Film
Playcall “Quick”
Picked up a playcall from the preseason film, the Trail Blazers call “Wide” action “Quick” or a quick screen away.
Here is a clip of them running this action last year:
BOB ISO
When it comes to running set plays or actions with a superstar and talented scorer like Damian Lillard, sometimes it’s best to keep it simple. In Baseline and Sideline out of Bounds scenarios, the Trail Blazers will often elect to throw it to Dame and have him ISO.
BOB ISO Rip
Very few times did they even look for action off it, but one thing they will look to do is run this with a backscreen option to look for a quick-hitting score.
SOB ISO
Same thing with an example here from Sideline out of Bounds.
SOB Zipper Pin
A classic but common play from Sideline out of Bounds, the Trail Blazers run a player off a zipper screen to receive the initial pass.
This play is designed for a shooter in the opposite corner to come off a pindown screen looking for a shot.
SOB Zipper Pin Step
If the shot is not open then this can flow into multiple options, the first being a step ballscreen or a ballscreen directly after the pindown toward half court.
SOB Zipper Pin Punch
If the screen is switched or looking for a big to post-up, this can also go into a post-up opportunity. The initial screen can give the post player good position since his man will have to at least honor the screen not allowing him to fight for the post position.
C Knicks
Coming from the Clippers & Ty Lue, this is a classic set that Lue used in Cleveland for LeBron, then in LA for Paul George/Kawhi.
It makes sense that Chauncey would take this with him and use it for players like Dame/Simons. One thing the Trail Blazers will look to do is put a weak defender in the ballscreeners position to try and force a switch or a bad defender to guard the ballscreen.
One Pop Fist
A set that Mike D’Antoni used to run for Steve Nash all the time, this set is designed to have action before a ballscreen. Once the ball is reversed the player they want to come off a ballscreen (Dame/Simons) comes off a downscreen.
Then the player screens down for the big setting the ballscreen (Ram Action), flowing into a spread pick and roll with action before it.
Dive
One of the most common actions, especially After Time Outs, the Trail Blazers looked to run Dive action. This pushes a trailer or player in the middle of the floor backdoor then goes into a ballscreen from the player low in the dunkers spot.
Dive Exit
Running this action with an “Exit” screen or a screen on the baseline for the player who cut backdoor takes the help defense away. This allows the Trail Blazers to create “Shake” or single tag action to force a defender to choose to either tag the roll man or stay on the shooter.
Dive Veer
A counter they run instead of a ballscreen is to have the player who sprints into the ballscreen fake it and run a “Veer” screen or a quick screen for the player off the ball looking for a shot.
More on “Veer” actions:
Veer Playbook | Rockets | Clippers One Pop
Dive Turn Strong
A pretty cool counter is to have the player they push backdoor first come off a stagger screen, with a little twist to it.
When the player who sprints into the ballscreen gets to near the free throw line, he “Turns” and goes into a double screen for the shooter.
If you liked this breakdown feel free to share it & if you have any other scenarios, plays, or thoughts on any future breakdowns let me know in the comments below!
🏀Resources:
Basketball Playbooks | Coaching Clinics | Coaching Membership | Newsletter
👉🏻Follow:
🔎Explore:
5-Out Breakdowns | Space & Pace Clinic | NCAA “Delay” Series Playbook
Note: if you are reading this in the e-mail-only form some of the gifs and videos do not always show up correctly.
Outwork Yesterday.
Coach Pyper