LOS ANGELES - The Portland Trail Blazers have turned into appointment viewing fast, and the reason goes well beyond Damian Lillard’s return.
Yes, Lillard has come back looking a lot like himself after missing all of last season while recovering from a torn Achilles. And yes, Ja Morant has not just fit beside him - he’s been thriving, flashing the kind of version of himself that feels familiar, only with a cleaner, more mature edge.
But what really makes Portland pop early is the number of players on the roster who can actually create something on the fly. Deni Avdija, Jrue Holiday and Scoot Henderson all fit that mold, and it gives the Blazers a group loaded with dribble, pass and shoot ability.
The biggest preseason question was obvious: how would all that talent share the floor, especially with Morant and Lillard sharing the backcourt? Both are accustomed to being the guy with the ball.
Three games in, it’s been a strong answer. Morant and Lillard are averaging a combined 38 points and 10.3 assists while shooting 51.3% from the field. Coach Micah Nori said the fit starts with mindset.
“It’s because they both want to win, number one. They’re both very selfless players,” coach Micah Nori said.
“They both have been there, done that... they just want to win basketball games. They just want to win, and I think they’re both trying to play the right way, both playing very selfless.
They love to share the ball, and I think that’s the reason it’s working.”
Lillard said the early success has come from resisting the urge to over-engineer things. The group has simply leaned into the correct read, and the offense has taken care of the rest.
“I think the key for us so far has just been we’re not trying too hard to get somebody the ball or play that game in our heads. We’re just doing the right thing,” Lillard said.
“I think the way our offense is set up, if you do the right thing, the ball is going to get where it’s supposed to go. And I just think we’ve been executing well and just trusting...
“Tonight [against the Lakers], we didn’t have any play where it was like, “All right, Dame, I want you to take it’ or ‘Ja, I want you to take it.’ Like I said, it was a matter of if we attack and the defense does one thing, we just trust to make the next play.”
That has required give-and-take from everybody, and maybe most of all from Lillard. He said he hasn’t played off the ball this much since his rookie year. Nori said Lillard has embraced that shift, while still forcing defenses to account for him every trip.
“Dame has been a guy in his career, and rightfully so, who has always had the ball in his hands quite a bit,” Nori said. “And now, in coming back, he’s really accepted a role as more of an off-ball and maybe getting it as a second handler. But the one thing that Dame does is he just draws so much gravity, not only for Ja when he’s in pick and roll, but even for Deni because nobody wants to leave Dame, so you’re able to do a lot more stuff with him off ball.”
And if a defense does slip, the Lakers already found out what happens.
Morant has had to adjust too, but he said the transition has been simple because he doesn’t see himself through the narrow lens some people do.
“I feel like a lot of people think like I’m just supposed to score 25 or score 30 every time, and I’m really a point guard. You know what I’m saying?”
Morant said. “So coming into it, I know I could make their jobs easier, release some pressure on them.
Obviously, adding Dame back as well takes a lot of pressure from Deni having to handle a lot. We can get him, you know, way easier looks, and you know, vice versa.
I don’t have to handle. Dame don’t have to handle.
We still can get in a lot of stuff to get the job done.”
He’s also changed the way he attacks. Instead of forcing his way straight into traffic, Morant has mixed in a sharper midrange game.
Against the Lakers, when he saw Walker Kessler playing in a deep drop, he floated the ball over him. This season, Morant has gone 13-of-18 in the paint outside the restricted area, showing that he’s not just relying on burst to the rim.
Avdija may be the biggest beneficiary of the whole setup. Last season, he was the engine of the offense, handling the ball a ton and leading the league in drives to the paint. Nori said that once Portland traded for Morant and knew Lillard would be back, he spoke with Avdija about how the new arrangement would actually help him.
“Last year - and a lot of it was out of necessity with the injuries - he was like bringing it up and basically battling people for 94 feet and then having to create something,” Nori said of Avdija. “And now, because of the gravity of Dame, and also because of Ja’s ability to play pick-and-roll, we can get Deni in space downhill to his right hand against closeouts, as opposed to him handling it and everybody building up.”
That has shown up early in the way Portland is using him. Avdija is getting downhill off dribble handoffs, in transition and even off cuts, often catching the ball with momentum already behind him. For one of the league’s best drivers, that head start matters.
“The reason why it works so much is because Deni himself, but also Ja and Dame, are willing passers, so they’re not ball-dominant, shoot-all-the-balls type of guys,” Nori said. “And basically, I think what you’ve seen with Deni, and thankfully it’s broken this way, is that he’s playing a lot against closeouts.
He’s getting the ball in space, and he’s getting himself downhill. And I think that we’re seeing about as efficient as Deni is as he’s ever been.”
Nori also pointed to the human side of it. The buy-in has been there from the start, and he said he doesn’t think he deserves the biggest share of the credit.
“The buy-in has been super, and I really didn’t have to do a whole lot,” Nori said. “I wish I could tell you that there was some secret sauce where I was coaching my ass off as far as getting them to buy in.
But just as human beings, they’re just really good people. They want to win.
They know they’re going to play. They know their roles, and so far... the buy-in has been wonderful for all.”
If that continues, the Trail Blazers will keep demanding attention every time they take the floor.
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