The Portland Trail Blazers' defense in their exhibition loss to the Golden State Warriors wasn't quite as porous as it often appeared on the floor, at least statistically.
The Warriors' point total was juiced by the high pace of Monday's affair. Their offensive rating was just 110.0, well below league average last season, and wasn't even especially dominant with Steph Curry on the floor. Golden State also put up 24 points off turnovers, taking full advantage of Portland's carelessness with the ball its first time operating Chauncey Billups' offensive system.
Still, the eye test made clear the Blazers' pointed desire and concerted effort to improve defensively in 2021-22 won't be enough by itself. And during a game in which the Blazers surrendered a whopping 69 three-point attempts, the second-most ever in an NBA game, Portland's players and coaching staff worked together to address and correct the mistakes that allowed Golden State so much space from beyond the arc.
“We all wanna be better defensively,” Damian Lillard said at the postgame podium. “[The coaching staff] continues to mention it, when we didn’t communicate, when we made mistakes. They called it out.”
Billups has stressed the benefits of “putting an address” on individual errors from the bench and during film study, a mode of accountability the Blazers believe is paramount to turning the tide defensively. It's obvious Portland holdovers believe their immense struggles on that side of the ball weren't solely limited to Terry Stotts' ultra-conservative defensive scheme. If only their previous mistakes had been called out with consistency, the Blazers believe they could've been stouter defensively even while playing a system they all agree wasn't the right one.
There wasn't much from Monday's game to suggest Billups' defensive approach is a better fit for Portland's personnel. Jusuf Nurkic was a bit slow meeting ball handlers at the level of screens and recovering back to the paint, and there were many occasions nonexistent help on the backline left the Blazers pointing fingers and discussing assignments after Golden State layups. Portland was abused by back-cuts along the baseline and lackadaisical in transition defense, too.
Needless to say, this isn't good enough from Norman Powell.
Portland still needs to iron out help responsibilities on empty-corner side ball screens and pick-and-pops for elite shooters.
This type of casual engagement from Lillard tracking Curry away from the ball is hardly what Billups preached over the first few days of training camp.
Reminder: It's the preseason. The Blazers hadn't taken the floor since early June, and are a much different team now than they were while getting dispatched by the short-handed Denver Nuggets in the playoffs. Even if Portland's full rotation had remained perfectly intact, there would have been an inevitable adjustment period to not just implementing Billups' defensive principles, but hearing his voice on the sidelines.
Nurkic admitted after the game he'll be more effective in the Blazers' new defense once he gets in better basketball shape, a necessity Billups has harped on. He's certain Portland's execution on that end of the floor will improve simply with time and experience either way.
“I feel confident that we’re gonna get defensively better, especially [as] we continue to play,” Nurkic said.
Lillard was even more unequivocal in his support of Portland's scheme, insisting “everybody” knows his team is better suited with bigs meeting the ball at the level of the screen, helping and recovering behind that primary action.
It definitely looked that way for a few fleeting halfcourt possessions of the exhibition opener. The Blazers' connectedness and communication was far closer to what Billups envisions when Larry Nance Jr. and Cody Zeller were on the floor, no surprise considering their time playing in similar systems with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Charlotte Hornets. Just as predictable was Portland being a bit more disruptive on the weak side with Nassir Little and his 7'2” wingspan slotting in at small forward.
“It’s a work in progress,” Lillard said of of the Blazers' defense. “We gotta continue to work at it and get better and get more comfortable with it, and we’ll do that.”
Acknowledging the need for it is an unavoidable first step toward improvement. After one preseason game, it's evident Portland won't rest on its training camp laurels of a collective commitment to defense. The Blazers are finally holding themselves accountable, the type of self-awareness that's bound to pay off in at least some measure of progress defensively when the real games tipoff in two weeks.
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