October Previews

October 24, 2008

Preseason in the NBA is like previews at a movie theater. Coaches get a glimpse of what’s to come before the main attraction starts. A month ago, I asked Nate McMillan what he was looking for throughout exhibition play and his response was twofold; he wanted to evaluate the Blazers’ Inside Out game and condition a defensive mindset.

Seven pre-season games and four wins later, with a Trail Blazers squad more ready than ever to start the regular season, I asked McMillan to evaluate October previews. Starting with offense, he said, “Teams have given us different looks. We still have to learn to play off each other in terms of spacing, where to go, and reacting to teams when we drop the ball inside. It’s an adjustment for LaMarcus. Last year he was pretty much the only guy who was double-teamed in the post, so he played with the ball. This year, with Greg inside, LaMarcus needs to learn to play off the ball and where to rotate.”

The developing game in the paint is a great step forward for a team that, last season, won or lost games based on perimeter shooting. McMillan is happy to have options in the paint, claiming, “The fact is, we can go down there to several guys, Greg, LaMarcus, Brandon, Travis. If they are going to give us single coverage, we like that. If they are going to double, we’ll have to learn to read and react.”

On the other side of the ball, McMillan believes his team has the skills to make stops, but simply needs a few more reps. He said, “We’re making the effort, but we’re not consistent with it. And the reason for that is that they aren’t conditioned to it. We have to keep conditioning ourselves to play aggressive defense - good weakside help and finishing the play with a rebound. They’re offensive minded guys and the effort is there, but sometimes you revert back to old habits…Those habits will come as we play games.”

Overall, McMillan is encouraged by the way October unfolded. “It was a good training camp,” said McMillan. “We got our work in, we’ve come out of camp healthy, everyone is ready to go and you can’t ask for more than that.”

Here’s a quick look at some of the preseason stats: The Blazers averaged 96.4 points per game on 47.1% field goal shooting, while conversely holding opponents to 91 points per game on 43.7% field goal shooting. My favorite stat of preseason play falls under hustle. The Blazers ranked 1st in the NBA in offensive boards, grabbing 33.2% of their missed shots, putting themselves in position to earn a significant number of second chance points. If the previews are any indication of the main attraction, the Blazers might be on their way to Four Stars.