Trail Blazers Report: During Early Training Camp, 90% of Time Focused on Defense to Give Yang Hansheng Room for Mistakes

At 10 a.m. Beijing time on October 9, the Trail Blazers will face the Golden State Warriors in their preseason debut. Team reporter Mike Richman talked about the Blazers’ defensive approach and nurturing Yang Hansheng during his podcast. The following are his remarks—

“During the initial stage of training camp,the Trail Blazers dedicated 90% of their time to defensive drills.” They clearly defined ‘defense’ as the team’s identity: applying full-court pressure, pressing at the high post, protecting the rim, limiting opponents’ three-point shots, and forcing opponents into offensive congestion. The last 41 games of the previous season already proved they can play elite defense; even if some think the ‘third-best defense’ ranking is misleading, there’s no doubt ‘they are a strong defensive team’—even the harshest critics cannot deny this.”

“As long as the Trail Blazers can consistently maintain top-tier defense over 82 games, for example ranking 6th to 8th in the league, the offensive burden will be much lighter. Take Shelden Sharp’s poor three-point shooting last season—shooting should be his ‘fundamental skill’ rather than his ‘ceiling skill.’ If he wants to be a long-term ‘above-average shooting guard,’ his three-point percentage needs to at least meet the league average or be higher. However, if the team’s defense is solid enough, Sharp doesn’t need to shoot 40% from three; hitting around 35%, slightly below league average but with a decent volume, combined with strong mid-range shooting and driving ability, can still contribute to the team. Elite defense provides more ‘margin for error’ on offense, so the team doesn’t need to be outstanding offensively, just ‘good enough.’”

“This ‘margin for error’ also applies to developing young players. For example, Yang Hansheng, the 20-year-old rookie, is likely to be the backup center in the season opener because Robert Williams has not yet participated in full 5-on-5 contact drills.” Although he is smart and technically skilled, rookies typically struggle defensively; even when they make positive contributions, it usually happens in the latter half of the season.”

“But as long as Yang Hansheng can ‘get by’ defensively—even if it’s just ‘putting on a show,’ using his height advantage for positioning without needing to excel—he can serve as a ‘functional piece’ for the team, even if only ‘mildly functional,’ allowing him to fit into the system. Because even if the defense dips slightly when he’s on the court, the team’s overall defensive foundation is strong enough; meanwhile, he will gain valuable playing time to gradually adjust to the NBA pace.”