To hear Portland general manager Neil Olshey tell it on Monday, the search for Terry Stotts’ replacement as head coach will be focused on candidates who can revamp the Trail Blazers’ long-struggling defense. And with good reason.
After finishing sixth in defensive rating during the 2017-18 season, Portland’s regression on that end — from 16th to 27th to 29th last season — had everything to do with Stotts’ recent firing.
“Teams that made big jumps on the defensive end were led in part by coaches who players knew on Day 1 they were going to have to defend and be held accountable on that end of the floor because that’s what the coach valued,” Olshey, who added that there would be “20 to 25 candidates,” told reporters in his Zoom news conference. “We didn’t necessarily go into every game where players felt like they were going to be judged by their defensive impact.
