Portland Trail Blazers Playing With Consistency (Part 1 Of 2)

The Portland Trail Blazers are the first team in the league to reach 30 wins. That is a huge accomplishment, but in the grand scheme of things, doesn’t mean a ton.

There is a lot of basketball ahead of this team, 44 games to be exact, and a lot can change.

I do not say that to diminish the success of this team, at all. But it is a well-established fact that the NBA season is a marathon, not a sprint.

Despite facing injury adversity during the first half of this marathon, the Blazers have stayed consistent, played their game, and continued to win games.

Key word there … consistent.

Consistency is what separates this team from Blazer teams of the past. Consistency is what separates this team from a lot of other teams in the NBA. Consistency is what separates this team from a lot of other professional sports franchises, period.

On, and off the court, this franchise has demonstrated a rare form of consistency that has set the Blazers up for success this year, and years to come. There are many factors that weigh into how this team has been able to stay so consistent.

Today I will explore the on-court aspects to this team that have contributed to their success. Next week, in Part 2, I will explore some of the off-court, organizational, decisions that have kept this team on its path to success.

On-Court Consistency:

• Terry Stotts’ brand of basketball. When Stotts was hired, he came from Dallas with impressive offensive credentials, including an NBA Finals victory with the Mavs. The first couple years in Portland, it was all about the offense. The offense continues to be the emphasis of this team, however it is not clicking as it has in years past. The overall team shooting is a bit down, pace is a bit down. But despite the semi-slump (still ranked 8^th in Offensive Efficiency, 5^th last season) they continue to stick with their spread out offense that is predicated on the high pick-and-roll, with shooters spreading the floor. That has not changed since Stotts arrived in Portland.
• Rotation. Last year Stotts was seemingly scraping the bottom of the barrel when it came to bench play. The rotation was somewhat set as the year went on but there was no consistency other than Mo Williams. And it almost pains me to use the words ‘consistency’ and ‘Mo Williams’ in the same sentence. This year, however, there is a real consistency to the rotation. Chris Kaman and Steve Blake head into the game between 5 and 7 minutes into the 1^st quarter, a shooter (CJ McCollum or Allen Crabbe) is usually the third player off the bench about 8 minutes into the 1^st, LaMarcus Aldridge takes a significant breather to start the 2^nd and 4^th quarters, etc. It is almost set in stone at this point.
• Improving talent. When you look up and down this roster, it is hard not to be struck by just how talented this team is. Two All-Stars in Aldridge and Damian Lillard. A former All-Star in Kaman. Four lottery picks in the past 3 years in Thomas Robinson, Lillard, Meyers Leonard, and McCollum. The leading 3-point shooter in the league in Wesley Matthews. And this is not even considering 40% of the teams’ talented starting lineup in Nicolas Batum and Robin Lopez. Talent is one thing, but this talented roster continues to progress and become a better-rounded team. The bench has improved, the defense has improved, and those have led to the win totals improving.
• Next man up. Remember last year when the Blazer had 2 different starting lineups the entire season? When only 6 guys started games? When 4 member of the starting lineup (Lillard, Matthews, Batum, Lopez) started all 82 games? Now that’s consistency. This year has been a bit different, but the mindset hasn’t. Ten players have already started games for the Blazers this season. Ten! Only three players on the entire roster have played in all 38 games this season. To be where the team is with so much adversity and change this early in the season is impressive. And that can be contributed to the consistent process and the Next Man Up attitude that Stotts has instilled in this team.

This consistency is rare and something that Blazer fans need to recognize and appreciate. Having a team that is so leveled and headed in the right direction is something this city has craved for years.

As the Blazers enter a tougher stretch of the season, the key is to continue the consistency. Once the frontcourt health is improved, this team has a chance to do some really special things. As of right now, the Blazers are on track to win 64 games! Last year, the Spurs led the league with 62 wins. I don’t expect the Blazers to continue this red-hot pace, but then again, why not?

Part 2 on the off-court consistency will come next week and help document how Neil Olshey, Chris McGowan and Paul Allen have the organization working like a well-oiled machine.