Predicting the 5 worst defensive teams in the 2021-22 NBA season

The majority of the worst defensive teams in the NBA are keeping close tabs on the lottery situation that coming offseason. However, every year there are poor defensive teams that are playoff/play-in focused with the idea of simply outscoring their opponents. The Portland Trail Blazers seem to regularly be in that conversation, and they are one of the few rosters that pull it off to an extent.

Here are the five worst defensive ratings from the 2020-21 NBA season. The Sacramento Kings (116.5), Portland Trail Blazers (115.3), Minnesota Timberwolves (114.5), Houston Rockets (114.4), and the Orlando Magic (113.9). Only the 2019-20 Cleveland Cavaliers have ever posted a worse defensive rating in NBA history than the Kings or Blazers did last season.

Of the aforementioned five rosters, I have four that make my list this NBA season. The Sacramento Kings are the only ones not included, because defense has been such a commonly stated focal point for them throughout this offseason. The Kings also notably improved in that aspect after acquiring Terence Davis II, Maurice Harkless, and Delon Wright last deadline. Their defensive rating was 23rd post all-star break.

Those additions paired with Davion Mitchell, Alex Len, and Tristan Thompson should help Sacramento get out of the bottom five on defense at least.

Here are the teams I predict to record the five worst defensive ratings in the 2021-22 NBA season.

#5 Minnesota Timberwolves

Memphis Grizzlies v Minnesota Timberwolves

Chris Finch is allegedly going to be changing up the defensive scheme run in Minnesota this season, but their roster could still cause struggles on that end. The center has one of the most influential defensive roles in basketball, and Karl-Anthony Towns has not shown a consistent ability to impact the game there despite his elite offensive skillset.

Other core pieces of the roster can be liabilities on defense at times as well. D'Angelo Russell, Anthony Edwards and Malik Beasley are the offensive-oriented players who should be receiving big minutes when healthy in the 2021-22 NBA season.

There is a chance I am underselling the impact of Patrick Beverley, Josh Okogie and at times Jaden McDaniels but a competent defense needs more than that.

There were about three teams in consideration for this fifth spot, but Minnesota won the race.

#4 Portland Trail Blazers

Year after year now, the Portland Trail Blazers find themselves with a top NBA offense, but bottom defense. The two key pieces of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum obviously fit that trend, as does often injured big man Jusuf Nurkic.

Playing both Carmelo Anthony and Enes Kanter, two of the worst defenders in the NBA, for nearly 25 minutes per night certainly did not help last season. The Blazers have shown defensive growth since trading Gary Trent Jr. for Norman Powell, but is it enough? They still recorded the 26th overall defensive rating post the NBA All-Star break.

The obvious positive defenders are Robert Covington and the newly acquired Larry Nance Jr. The fit of Nance in Portland is intriguing to me, and a lineup of Lillard, McCollum, Powell, Covington, and Nance could perform well on defense.

That very well could be one of the very few positive defensive rotations available this season. Maybe Chauncey Billups will put more of an emphasis on defense than Terry Stotts did, but the roster does not feel talented enough on that end.

Also check out: Complete NBA Preseason TV Schedule for 2021

#3 Orlando Magic

Before blowing up the roster by trading away Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon, and Evan Fournier, the Orlando Magic were consistently one of the better defensive teams in the NBA. The continuous losses of their primary defensive impacts, combined with turning their focus to developing youth, has caused that trend to dramatically halt.

The Magic finished last season with the fifth worst defensive rating, and were particularly bad for the second half of the season. The X-Factor for their defense this season is when and how Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac return to play. Both of those players are very talented and impactful defenders, but their level of play when returning from substantial injuries is questionable.

There are some capable defenders on the roster outside of those two: Gary Harris, Wendell Carter Jr., Robin Lopez, and Chuma Okeke. The two lottery talents of Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner project as positives on that end throughout their careers as well, but asking that in year one is optimistic.

I could look back and regret this selection, but it really comes down to me thinking that the Orlando Magic are going to be one of the worst teams in the NBA this season with their eyes set on acquiring more lottery talent.

#2 Oklahoma City Thunder

Extreme youth is the trend with the final three selections on this list, and Oklahoma City may be the most future focused of the bunch. The Thunder were the second worst defense post-All-Star break of the 2020-21 NBA season, which may have been somewhat intentional.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luguentz Dort, and Derrick Favors have all proven to be positive defenders in the NBA, particularly Dort. I expect Sam Presti to shop Derrick Favors throughout the entire season.

Aleksej Pokusevski, Theo Maledon, Darius Bazley, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Josh Giddey may all end up as decent to above-average defenders throughout their NBA careers, but very few young players are impactful there.

The roster's defensive talent is notably underwhelming, and effort levels could wane from players when they realize the front office is striving for the highest lottery pick possible.

#1 Houston Rockets

Again, the Houston Rockets are just extremely young. They posted a horrendous defensive rating of 118.0 after the All-Star break in the 2020-21 NBA season, good for dead last during that stretch.

Their big three of Jalen Green, Kevin Porter Jr., and Christian Wood are all phenomenally talented at scoring the basketball, but defending is a vastly different story.

John Wall is reportedly being shopped and will continue to be if he does not find a new home before the regular season tips off. Eric Gordon's contract complicates things, but I would guess he falls under the same category. Either way, neither of those players are known for their defensive impact.

The notable positive defenders on the Houston roster are Daniel Theis, Usman Garuba, David Nwaba, and Danuel House. Aside from Garuba (and rookies are almost always poor defensively), none of those players are making a substantial defensive difference.

Additionally, the Rockets will probably find themselves content with adding another lottery selection in the 2022 NBA Draft and therefore show subpar effort in stopping the opposition. I predict that Houston will have the worst defensive rating in the 2021-22 NBA season.