Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said before Sunday night’s home game against the Charlotte Hornets that his team had to be leery while going up against a team that had raised its level of play on defense to greater heights since the trade deadline.
Yes, Billups was talking about the lowly Hornets. And he was correct. They got past the Blazers with a 93-80 victory at the Moda Center.
Granted, the Hornets (15-42) over the last five games posted a 103.9 defensive rating, second best in the NBA. An amazing uptick for a team that on the season sat at 29th (119.