5 reasons the Sacramento Kings can make the playoffs
By John Buhler
4. The Portland Trail Blazers play no defense
Sacramento’s biggest challenger for the No. 8 seed has to be Portland. The Trail Blazers have been in the Western Conference Playoffs the last several years under head coach Terry Stotts. They have a great basketball culture and two stellar backcourt players in point guard Damian Lillard and shooting guard C.J. McCollum.
However, there is one massive problem with the 2016-17 Trail Blazers construction: they play absolutely zero defense. Portland can put up points with Lillard and McCollum in the backcourt, but having to be so ball-dominant on offense capsizes the Trail Blazers’ overall bite on defense.
They need frontcourt dynamism and rim protection in the worst way possible. The idea was that free agent acquisition Festus Ezeli was going to be that guy, but he looks like he will miss the entire 2016-17 NBA season due to injury.
Al-Farouq Aminu is solid defensively when out there and so is Maurice Harkless. That being said, Portland is only going to be as good as its two best players allow it to be on defense. The problem is that matador defense doesn’t work in the Western Conference. Portland can win shootouts, but doesn’t grind it out and will surrender massive leads with terrible defensive acumen.