Two games into a five-game trip, Portland Trail Blazer coach Chauncey Billupsis is fulfilling his desire.
After leading his team to a 3-9 record in December with a defensive rating of 124.4, Chauncey Billups made it very evident that he wanted to see his squad improve defensively.
Billups is pleased with what he is witnessing after two games of the current trip.
In their 105-102 victory over Milwaukee on Saturday, the Blazers kept the Bucks well below their average of 112.3 points per contest.
Portland lost to the Los Angeles Lakers 114-106 to begin the trip. The Blazers’ offense let them down in that game, committing 18 turnovers that allowed the Lakers to score 24 points. The Blazers’ defense performed admirably overall.
The Blazers have a defensive rating of 109.3 through two games on this trip, good for ninth place during that period.
Anfernee Simons, who was unexpectedly hot, scored 28 points in Saturday’s victory. However, the defense faced former Blazers star Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Lillard was limited to 16 points on 5 of 15 shooting by the Blazers. Antetokounmpo had 15 rebounds and 31 points.
According to Billups, one of the team’s defensive goals was to keep both stars off the free-throw line while competing fiercely against them.
Tonight, we did a fantastic job of that,” Billups told reporters at the Fiserv Forum.
Antetokounmpo made three of four free throws. Lillard completed four out of five.
Lillard and Antetokounmpo each average 6.8 and 11.1 free throws per game, respectively. They almost lowered their total number of free throws in half, which helped the Blazers win.
On Saturday, January 4, 2025, in Milwaukee, Shaedon Sharpe of the Portland Trail Blazers fouls Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks during the first half of an NBA basketball game. (Photo by AP/Morry Gash) APAP
According to Billups, it’s about being physical and displaying your hands without fouling. I believed that we performed as well as possible and were disciplined there.
Toumani Camara, a forward for the Blazers, spent time protecting both Bucks studs. He claimed that by sticking to the game plan, staying in touch, and communicating, the team played excellent defense.
Camara told reporters, “We had four good quarters.” All of us, I believe, managed to keep our matches.
After ending a six-game losing streak on December 21, the Blazers are now 4-4. They defeated the Bucks (17-16), Utah (8-25), Dallas (20-15), and Denver (20-14). The struggle becomes rewarding when you defeat winning teams.
“You expect to win when you play well,” Billups stated. Additionally, we frequently perform well in games but fail to come up with a solution at the end. So I reasoned that the most important thing for us today was to just do what we wanted to do, avoid boredom, and not get frightened when the game got tight.
According to Camara, securing close victories boosts the team’s spirits.
According to Camara, we’ve been feeling a little low recently. We’re looking for a steady winning rate, albeit we were able to get wins here and there.
The Blazers’ next game is against the Detroit Pistons (17-18) on Monday at 4 p.m.
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