Blazers bad defense: Result of injuries or a bigger problem? - a podcast by KGW

The Portland Trail Blazers continue to stay afloat in a crowded Western Conference despite an injury list that continues to grow. Going into Thuesday night's game against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Blazers have been 4-4 in their eight games without center Jusuf Nurkic and 3-4 in their seven games without CJ McCollum. The team is 11-9 so far this year, just percentage points behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the 5th seed in the West.


SUBSCRIBE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/3-on-3-blazers/id1290344201The Blazers have not only been overcoming injuries the last couple weeks but also consistent poor defensive performances. That was the main point of discussion in this week's episode of KGW's 3-on-3 Blazers podcast, hosted by KGW sports anchor Orlando Sanchez alongside KGW's Jared Cowley, Nate Hanson and Max Barr.Overall, on the season the Blazers rank 29th out of 30 teams in the NBA in defensive rating, which calculates a team's defensive efficiency, measured by how many points they give up per 100 possessions. But is the current bad defense attributable to injuries, and the roster head coach Terry Stotts currently has to work with, especially considering the importance of Nurkic, as well as McCollum this season, to the defensive side of the ball? Or is there a bigger systemic problem for the Blazers' defensive woes?

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