FOR THREEEEE!

The smothering Trail Blazers zone has returned to cause a few problems for the Hornets, who aren't a great three-point shooting team when Peja Stojakovic isn't on the floor. In particular, the "white unit" used the zone to close in on an early Hornets lead and now the "black unit" has started to frustrate the New Orleans offense with the same stifling 2 - 3 zone.

It's amazing to watch a zone defense work with such effectiveness in an NBA contest. Typically, a zone is reserved for undersized college teams that don't have the interior defense to match up with elite programs, but this season, the Trail Blazers (who are an undersized professional team) have frustrated just about everyone they've played by using a basic 2 - 3 rotating zone that encourages perimeter jump shots.

Tonight, however, neither team has been able to get it going from beyond the arc and the Trail Blazers, in particular, have struggled from just about everywhere on the floor. Portland is shooting just 32.4%, compared to 41.2% for the Hornets, and the difference is a 4-point Hornet lead.

With 2:47 left in the half, it's 35 - 31.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home