The Trail Blazers' defensive approach is different from the Supersonics, whose SOS system has always been about extending pressure outward.
So their defense looks aggressive, but it's actually strong on the outside but weak on the inside, especially with ongoing backcourt rebound issues.
This results in opponents biting the bullet to hold on without collapsing under the Supersonics' aggressive siege, dragging the game into a war of attrition and rebounds, where the Supersonics falter.
This is why they were upset by the Nuggets, often running out of steam in the latter stages of the playoff series and getting eliminated.
The Trail Blazers' defensive tradition is different; they never had such aggression, focusing more on resilience and persistence, controlling opponents' shooting percentage, offensive efficiency, and dominating the paint with a classic loose perimeter and tight interior style, passed down since the Beelman era.
