Portland was one of the better stories last season. The Trail Blazers overcame the arrest of former head coach Chauncey Billups in October and, under interim coach Tiago Splitter, made the postseason. Despite that, an offseason of drama ensued, most of which was caused by owner Tom Dundon.
Once the smoke of a tumultuous offseason cleared, Portland emerged with a new coach in Micah Nori and a newly acquired star in Ja Morant. The roster is an interesting one that has a logjam of guards, but Nori is a widely respected coach who is finally getting his shot to lead a team. Whether the Trail Blazers can make it back to the postseason remains to be seen, but this is a team that should be in contention for a spot at the table once again.
BURNING QUESTIONS
How in the world do all these guards work together?
Nori made headlines during media days for Portland when he said the quiet part out loud: Morant and Damian Lillard in a starting backcourt “doesn’t make sense.” He’s not wrong. Both Morant and Lillard are ball-dominant guards who work best running the show. Morant specifically is a terrible fit next to Lillard when he is without the ball, as he does not provide a true shooting threat for opponents to respect. Nori will not only have to navigate the workload and rotations for both Lillard and Morant, but he also has a guard room that consists of Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, and Jrue Holiday. And it’s not just the mouths that need to be fed, but each of the guards on paper boasts skill sets that do not seem to jive with one another. At some point, it will come down to the big names. Will Lillard and Morant be willing to sacrifice for the benefit of the team? Morant just left a situation in which he caused a ruckus due to his unhappiness with how he was being deployed. What makes us think he will be on his best behavior in Portland?
What does Deni Avdija do for an encore performance?
This will be Avdija’s third season in Portland, but last season was a coming-out party for the 2020 lottery pick. Avdija averaged career highs in points (24.2) and assists (6.7) for the Trail Blazers. When he was on the floor, he improved the Trail Blazers’ offensive efficiency by 5.9 points per 100 possessions. He ended up finishing third in Most Improved Player voting, but he was clearly one of the best development stories of the league. How can he follow that up? One way could be by improving his shooting. Avdija shot just 32.1% on three-point attempts last season and 25.0% on pull-up three-point jumpers. Portland as a team did not shoot the ball well last season — they hit just 34.5% from deep as a team — but Avdija has to be better. The presence of Lillard should improve the spacing for this group overall, and his presence will mean more room to operate for Avdija, but if he adds a consistent three-point shot to his game, it will be massive for him and the Trail Blazers.
Can Nori keep the team’s defensive trajectory going?
Portland built its postseason run last year on its defense. The Trail Blazers finished 12th in non-garbage-time defensive efficiency, allowing just 114.5 points per 100 possessions. They supplemented their poor offense by forcing turnovers on 15.3% of opponent possessions and turning those into fastbreak opportunities. Portland has also finished in the top 10 in halfcourt defensive efficiency each of the last two seasons, and it finished 10th in opponent points added per 100 plays in transition off live rebounds. One look at the personnel, and it shouldn’t shock anyone that this is a team that can play elite defense. Holiday continues to be one of the best perimeter defenders in the game, and Donovan Clingan has emerged as a solid rim protector, shot-blocker, and rebounder. Can Nori continue to keep the Trail Blazers on that path while also implementing an offense that can take this team a step further?
WIN TOTAL RECOMMENDATION: Over 41.5
