There’s an old adage in the NBA: “defense wins championships”. Like most cliches, there is some truth in that.
Of course, offense wins you championships too. Generally speaking, the team hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy at the end of a given season is strong on both ends of the floor. Still, that saying exists because defense tends to get overlooked.
After all, offense puts butts in the seat. It also gets players paid. Perhaps most importantly, it wins games. Still, preventing points matters: just ask the Portland Trail Blazers.
Last season, they had the worst Defensive Rating in the league. Granted, it was an odd year for the Blazers.
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With Damian Lillard missing a large portion of the year with an injury, the Blazers took “tanking” measures in a bid to retool for 2022-23. On the other hand, defense has plagued them through the Lillard era.
They’ve taken steps to fix the problem, acquiring solid defensive wings in Jerami Grant and Josh Hart. Here’s a trade that has them going a step further by acquiring Myles Turner.