He Portland Trail Blazers used swarming defense to defeat the Charlotte Hornets 141-88 at the Moda Center on Saturday night. In the process they secured the largest margin of victory at home in franchise history. The Hornets have been a team focusing more on tanking this season than winning, but tonight they did start their all-star-caliber point guard Lamelo Ball and talented wing man Miles Bridges. Sadly for them, they would have needed Hornets legends Larry Johnson and Alonzo Mourning to just keep the game close.
When everything is clicking, it becomes a long night for Portland opponents. On the defensive end of the court, Portland executed their rotations to perfection, Toumani Camara played smothering on-ball and help defense while providing an offensive punch. The team as a whole connected on 48% of their three-point attempts. The largest lead for the Blazers was 55 points and honestly it could have been a lot more.
Let’s dive into five points of analysis to better understand how this blowout occurred.
MVP
The aforementioned Camara earned my MVP of the game because of his impact on both the offensive and defensive end of the court. Camara set the tone in the first quarter, hitting his first three-point attempt of the game. He would finish with 20 points, going 4-6 from deep. Whenever Camara is scoring at that level of efficiency and volume, he is usually the best player on the court.
Much has been written about his defensive superpowers. Tonight they were on full display against the Hornets. Camara took on the challenge of guarding Ball, who is an ascending star in the NBA. Multiple times you could see Ball frustrated, pleading with the refs to help against Camara’s ball pressure.
The help defense was also on display. Camara recorded only two blocks, but they were statement stops. If you include the 3-4 other times when he altered shots at the rim, you would say he was a deeply disruptive force on defense. Camara would end the night with a +/- of +45, which should tell just how impactful he was on the court.
Defense on a String
While the Blazers were on their 10 wins in 11 games stretch, they made a statement by being the top-rated defense in the league. That statistic has slipped some over the past four games, but it reared its head tonight against the lowly Hornets. Portland would hold Charlotte to only 88 points on 34% shooting. When a team is able to throttle an opponent like that, it means the entire team was on the same page.
The Blazers’ front office built this squad to be able to switch everything on defense. No longer are Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum being exploited on that end of the court on every play. Tonight, the Blazers guards ushered the Hornets into the lane where they were met by Camara, Deni Avdija, and Blazers rookie Donovan Clingan. Portland swarmed and challenged every shot in the paint, forcing the Hornets into many many misses. It was getting so bad for Charlotte that they started throwing up blind shots at the rim, hoping to draw a foul. The Blazers were moving on a string, and it showed.
Open Court
Defense usually leads to good offense, but only when you make decisive moves in the open court. The Blazers accomplished the first step in this formula, and thanks to their quick decision making, it resulted in easy buckets. Anfernee Simons finished with 25 points on 5-10 shooting from deep. All five of his three-point makes came in transition after one or two quick passes. Simons is a lethal shooter and when he catches the ball in rhythm, he is usually cash money.
Unselfish Play
Portland had the ball moving tonight against Charlotte, recording a staggering 37 assists. The team rarely settled for a bad shot, always trying to find the open man. Before you say, “well it’s the Hornets,” they actually rank 11th in the NBA in opponent scoring. The Blazers accomplished this against a team that takes pride in slowing the pace and defending the three-point line
A play at the 4:42 mark of the third quarter essentially sealed the game for the Blazers. Jerami Grant had the ball in the corner for a three. He decided to pass it instead, which resulted in the ball moving around the arc all the way to Camara standing in the opposite corner. Because of this ball movement, the Hornets were a man short on their rotations which resulted in another made triple for Toumani. Another assist on a night full of them.
Battling for Boards
Chauncey Billups has made it clear he wants his team crashing the boards. The Blazers are putting tremendous value on rebounding, especially the offensive glass. This does make them vulnerable to teams leaking out for easy baskets, as happened against the Denver Nuggets before the All-Star break. But on nights like tonight, rebounding can take a small lead and turn it into a mountain.
At the 7:47 mark of the first quarter, with the Blazers taking one of those small leads, Camara gathered an offensive rebound which resulted in a pass to Avdija that led to an open three for Scoot Henderson. Obviously not a back-breaking moment for the Hornets, but it set the tone early. Portland would be sending multiple guys to the offensive glass. The Blazers would go on to outrebound the Hornets 57-37. What stood out to me was that Portland only lost the offensive rebound battle 12-11 on a night when the opponent missed nearly 65% of their shots.
