Portland Trail Blazers Struggle to Address Three-Point Shooting Weakness in Roster Build

The Portland Trail Blazers have made several roster moves this summer, including signing Jeremy Sochan to a training camp contract, aiming to add depth and athleticism. However, a significant weakness remains unaddressed: the team's lack of reliable three-point shooters. None of the new additions, including Ja Morant, Jeremy Sochan, Mikael Potter, Brendan Carlson, or Robert Williams, are proven long-range threats, which is a critical shortfall in today's NBA where three-point shooting is a central offensive weapon.

Over the past two seasons, the NBA average three-point shooting percentage has been around 36%, but all the players Portland added this summer shoot well below that mark. For example, Ja Morant made just one three-pointer per game at 24%, Sochan averaged 0.2 threes per game at the same percentage, and Carlson, while hitting 36%, only made 0.7 threes per game. Mikael Potter shot 42% but is expected to have a limited role, and Robert Williams, despite a 39% accuracy, attempted very few threes, mostly from free-throw line corner shots.

This shooting deficiency could significantly impact Israeli forward Deni Avdija, who had his best season last year attacking the basket but needs spacing around him to be effective. Without enough shooters to stretch defenses, opponents can collapse inside, limiting Avdija's ability to operate near the rim. Similarly, Morant's game relies heavily on creating with the ball, and he requires teammates who can shoot to open driving lanes.

Last season, Portland's problem was not the volume but the quality of their three-point shooting. They ranked 28th out of 30 NBA teams with a 34.3% three-point shooting percentage, despite taking a high number of attempts (seventh in the league with 1,186 threes). This gap highlights the Blazers' inefficiency from beyond the arc. Given that the new players are not natural shooters, questions arise whether Portland has improved this critical weakness or potentially regressed in an area that was already problematic.

The Blazers' summer acquisitions add depth and athleticism but do not solve the team's ongoing struggle with outside shooting, a factor that could hinder their offensive effectiveness in the upcoming season.