Zach Collins, Portland Trail Blazers (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
The Portland Trail Blazers haven’t been a top-10 defensive team since 2017-18. Given their recent acquisitions, here’s why they could be due to return to that stature next season.
Through their recent signings, the Portland Trail Blazers made their reach for an NBA championship substantially easier. Figuratively, it gets easier because the money they’ve spent on the likes of Robert Covington and Derrick Jones Jr. addresses critical defensive shortcomings from 2019-20.
And then literally, that reach becomes easier because … how could it not by adding two defensive stalwarts with 7-foot-2 and 7-foot wingspans respectively?