Blazers need to pick up the offense, but defense is coming
In his second game back from a thumb injury, Anfernee Simons busted out for 30 points with eight assists (courtesy Bruce Ely/Trail Blazers)
For years, under Terry Stotts and then Chauncey Billups, the Trail Blazers were among the NBA’s worst defensive teams.
The tables have finally turned this season. Going into Portland’s 125-112 loss to Dallas Friday night at Moda Center, the Blazers were 12th in both defensive rating (112.9) and opponents’ scoring (111.8).
At the other end, the Blazers — generally an upper-echelon offensive team in recent years — went in dead last in offensive rating (106.2) and scoring (105.2).
Portland (6-15) outscored the Mavericks by 18 points from the 3-point line, but the Blazers took 53 shots from long range — more than half of their 105 total — and shot only .371 overall from the field.
“(The Mavericks) pack the paint on us defensively,” Billups said afterward. “Normally, we try to have the mentality of attack the paint. But if they’re in there packing, you kick it out. I was fine with us taking the (3-point shots; we just couldn’t make enough of them.”
Billups has preached defense since the day he arrived in Rip City. Finally in his third season at the helm, he is starting to see results. Rookie forward Toumani Camara embraces defense and has shown signs of becoming a player to be counted on to guard people. Matisse Thybulle is already there. The 6-6 swing man, twice a second-team NBA All-Defensive team selection with Philadelphia, has become the locksmith the Blazers haven’t had for some time.
“He’s All-Defense NBA in my mind,” says Scotty Brooks, the Blazers’ veteran assistant coach.
Thybulle is tied for the team lead in blocks with 17 and is tied for 10th in the NBA in steals average (1.60) despite averaging only 23.7 minutes per game. The former Washington Husky played a season-high 36 minutes Friday night, knocking down 3 of 5 3-pointers while compiling nine points, eight rebounds, three steals and Portland’s only blocked shot.
“Tisse’s activity level on defense is incredible,” Billups said. “He has great hands, great anticipation. He loves to guard, loves to take on tough matchups. He gets around screens, navigates those as well as anybody I’ve seen.
“His catchup speed … when he gets behind, he somehow gets there to contest. Most guys can’t do that.”
Billups is wary of his players attempting to block 3-point shots and drawing fouls.
“But I give Tisse his own rules and coach everybody else on it,” Billups said with a smile. “I say, ‘Go do what Tisse does.’ He comes from far distances to block 3-point shots. He’s just gifted that way.”
Part of being a plus-defender is hard work and hustle. The other part involves the mental aspect. Now in his fifth NBA season, Thybulle clearly comes with preparation.
“If you want to be a great defender, you have to study the opponent, the personal tendencies,” Brooks says. “He has been in the league awhile. He has seen all the players. He knows the opponents’ personnel well. He is always in the right spot. He gambles, but it works out because of his quickness and anticipation. He has length, quickness and athleticism, and an uncanny ability to block jump shots, and 3-point shots, without fouling.”
Thybulle averages fewer than five overall shots a game but is shooting a team-best .413 from 3-point range and a solid .471 from the field.
“He has been shooting the ball well,” Brooks said, “but defense is his calling card.”
The Blazers trailed 99-98 in the fourth quarter and pressed the Mavericks right to near the end despite being without three injured starters — forward Jeremi Grant, center Deandre Ayton and guard Malcolm Brogdon. That’s 53 points a game missing from the lineup. It’s a refrain played too often during the two-plus years of the Billups era.
“I rarely have had a full deck,” he said. “I’ve become accustomed to that. It opens opportunities for other guys. We’re so much better when we have our guys; we just don’t have them very often. It’s frustrating, but I’m happy that, whoever we play, the guys play so damn hard.”
That wasn’t good enough against the Mavericks (13-8), despite the fact that they lost point guard Kyrie Irving to a leg injury in the second quarter. Luka Doncic carried them to victory despite hitting only 11 of 28 shots from the field — and 3 of 14 from 3-point range. The Slovenian superstar went for 32 points, 10 assists and six rebounds in 41 minutes.
Billups mixed up his coverage, using Thybulle, Camara, Jabari Walker and even rookie point guard Scoot Henderson to defend him. The defensive efforts weren’t bad, but Doncic still expertly orchestrated the victory.
Best news for the Blazers is the return of Anfernee Simons, who missed 18 games after undergoing thumb surgery. The sixth-year shooting guard’s second game back — and first one at home — was a beauty, featuring 30 points, eight assists and five rebounds over 36 minutes.
“Ant changes things for us,” Billups said. “Having him back helps everything, and he helps on defense, too, scrapping out there. One day, we’ll see how it looks like with all the pieces together.”
“I wouldn’t say I’ve been trying to ease back into it, but I’ve been seeing what the team needs and trying to provide that,” Simons said. “I tried to be extra aggressive there in the second quarter. That made me go into a little run. After that, it was playing off of that.”
Simons said he worked hard on his ballhandling skills during the offseason.
“Now I’m thinking the game way more than I used to, thinking of counters (to the defense), thinking about the next play,” he said. “Most of the time I’m thinking about what I can do next.”
The Blazers like Henderson and Camara, but they’ve not yet come around at the offensive end. On Friday, they combined for 10-for-37 shooting, including 2 for 16 from 3-point territory. For the season, Camara is shooting .378 from the field and .250 on 3-pointers. Henderson is worse — .344 and .180 on 3’s. That’s 9 for 50 on your scorecard.
“Our two rookies struggled tonight,” Billups said. “Toumani 20 shots. That doesn’t happen when your vets play. Scoot took a lot of shots that are not the shots we want, and defensively he struggled out there, too. Those two dudes really struggled, but it happens. They’re pups.”
Simons was once there, as a 19-year-old rookie learning from the likes of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.
“Experience is the best teacher,” Simons said. “You can tell somebody things, but you have to actually see it happen over and over to grasp it. I had to go through at an early age.
“You have to be mentally tough to get through that. I think Scoot is. There are going to be struggles at times, but you go out there and keep playing hard and doing your thing. He has to stay confident. Keep shooting your shot. Keep driving the paint. This is the process of becoming who you want to be.”
Brogdon, who has missed the last two games with knee soreness, has been a terrific addition since coming from Boston in the offseason. The eighth-year pro and last year’s Sixth Man of the Year is averaging 17 points and a team high 6.1 assists, playing 10 of his 15 games as a starter.
“Malcolm is old-school,” Brooks said. “He’s a big, smart, tough point guard. He won’t dazzle you with speed, but when I say that, he gets around everyone. And he’s strong. If you’re on his hip, you’re not getting around him He’s going to keep you there. His 3-point shot allows him to get around guys, because you have to honor it. He’ll break you down with basketball IQ, and he’s a great decision-maker.
“He has been really good, and he is a great mentor for Scoot. He has been through a lot of situations.”
This Blazer team is young. Henderson won’t turn 20 until Feb. 4. Shaedon Sharpe is 20. Walker is 21, Camara 23, Simons 24, Ayton 25. Even the veterans are in their prime — Thybulle at 26, Grant at 29. Brogdon turns 31 on Monday.
When the entire cast gets together — and that could happen soon — the group shouldn’t be an easy out for anybody. They’re 3-4 the past two weeks, but have been in every game down the stretch.
“It can be discouraging, but we have such great guys who understand the process of becoming a good team,” Simons said. “One of the steps is how we come out every night and play. We have been playing the same way every single night. That’s all we can ask right now.
“As we get some of our veterans back and get to the end of close games, we’ll start to finish out these games. It’s a learning experience for all of us. We’re going to get better from this.”
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