The Portland Trail Blazers was dealt a huge blow this off-season following the signings of LaMarcus Aldridge to the San Antonio Spurs, and Wesley Matthews to the Dallas Mavericks.
These massive deals somewhat pushed the Blazers back to square one after going on impressive playoff runs the past couple of seasons.
Now, with a relatively young core consisting of quick guards, versatile wingmen, and defensive-oriented bigs, head coach, Terry Stotts, lays out his plans for the upcoming NBA season.
Coach Stotts recently dropped by Trail Blazers Courtside to talk about Portland's blueprint and how he plans to alter the team's game plan now that their All-Star forward is gone.
"Offensively, Lamarcus created a lot of problems for the defense," Stotts said. "He got a lot of touches on the post. We involved him in pick-and-rolls."
Not all is lost, though, as they try a different facet to the classic offensive set, all while still sticking to their strengths.
"I think our pick-and-rolls have a chance to be very effective with Myers (Leonard) out there because he spaces the court, but certainly, I think offensively it's going to evolve."
Portland looks like a fast team on paper. They have young guys who can speed up the game and knock down shots.
"A lot of people say 'well they got get up and down, they got to run the ball,'" the 57-year-old coach claimed. "I do believe in pushing the ball and we're about 12th in the league in pace the last two years, I thought that was a good tempo for us."
Stotts also highlighted the importance of planning ahead, as well as getting the right players and instilling the proper mindset.
"What we're doing is laying the foundation not just for this year, but for years to come, and laying the foundation of a winning style basketball," he stated. "So I do wanna push the ball. I do wanna get the ball moving. I wanna emphasize passing and making each other better, get shots for each other, spacing the court."
On defense, the coach sang praises about his team's effort last season.
"The strides that we made defensively, I really can't justify going away from what we've done. We were a top 5 defensive team for most of the season last year, I think what we established was solid and fundamental."
Additionally, Stotts said that he still expects more especially from the new players.
"With our young guys, maybe we can do a little bit better. Maybe we can cover some more grounds. Maybe we do create a few more turnovers because we're in better position and we can react better."
It will be a tall order for the Portland Trail Blazers to make a comeback in a tough Western Conference playoff picture, but is has to start somewhere; and this "somewhere" is definitely a step in the right direction.