The Portland Trail Blazers are heading into 2026-27 with a very different feel, and that alone makes the upcoming season worth watching. New head coach Micah Nori, point guard Ja Morant and the return of Damian Lillard give Portland a revamped core as the team gets ready to open the campaign next month.
Nori was brought in, in part, because of what he can do on offense. During his five seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, his teams finished in the top 10 in offensive rating twice. Now he’s walking into a situation where the Blazers have three players who have each posted a 20-point season: Morant, Lillard and Deni Avdija.
That kind of firepower should give Portland plenty of nights where the defense on the other side is forced into tough decisions. With multiple scoring threats on the floor, the Blazers have the chance to keep pressure on opponents possession after possession and rack up wins through sheer offensive force.
The flip side is just as clear. Portland’s backcourt is small with Morant and Lillard both listed at 6-2, and that could create real problems against bigger guards.
Teams with size on the perimeter may be able to attack that matchup all season long. Toumani Camara gives the Blazers a defensive anchor, and Donovan Clingan helps in the paint, but this still looks like a group that could give up plenty of points and end up in a lot of shootouts.
When it comes to scoring, Lillard looks like the safest bet to finish as Portland’s leader. Morant and Avdija will have nights where they carry the load, but Lillard’s three-point shooting and his knack for taking over games make him the most likely top scorer. Even coming off a torn Achilles, he has the kind of offensive burst that can swing a game in a hurry.
He may need a month or so to settle back into rhythm, but once he does, Portland should have its go-to scorer back in place.
As for the standings, the Blazers look like a team that belongs in the middle tier of the Western Conference, not the top six and not the bottom five. The 7-10 range feels like the most natural landing spot, which would put them in the play-in picture.
Portland is still a work in progress, and that adjustment period could cost them in the standings. But if the group finds its footing in the middle of the season, the Blazers have enough talent to get into the play-in tournament and possibly win a game or two to push themselves into the postseason bracket.
In Other News...
Blazers May Already Have A Deni Avdija Problem They Didn't Expect
Deni Avdija has already become one of the more interesting long-range questions on Portlands roster, and not because of anything he has done wrong. CBS Sports analyst Sam Quinn recently framed the forward as a name Dallas could have on its radar when 2028 free agency arrives, pointing out that the Mavericks may need to think ahead if they want a path back toward contention. For the Blazers, that kind of speculation is a reminder that promising talent does not always line up neatly with the salary-cap realities that come with keeping it.
Portlands challenge is less about Avdijas fit than the financial and roster math around him. The Blazers have to weigh how they build around their current core, and recent moves have only made the picture more crowded. If the front office keeps layering talent onto the roster instead of carving out flexibility, retaining Avdija could become a tougher task than it looked when he first emerged as part of the teams future. [Read more 🡒]
Scoot Henderson Just Put The Blazers At A Backcourt Crossroads
Scoot Henderson is at an interesting point with the Trail Blazers, because he is eligible for a contract extension while Portlands backcourt plans seem to be shifting around him. For a young guard who was supposed to be part of the franchises next core, the timing matters. The front office does not have to rush into anything, but the longer this stays unresolved, the more it looks like Portland is weighing what Hendersons next role should really be.
If the Blazers are no longer viewing him as a primary backcourt piece, the conversation moves quickly from development to asset management. Around the league, there are already teams that could make sense as possible fits if Portland decides to explore a move, and that kind of interest usually keeps a players name alive in trade chatter right up to the deadline. The bigger question now is whether the Blazers want to clarify their direction with Henderson before that point arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Damian Lillard Has A Real Case Fans Will Love Debating
Damian Lillard has always lived in the conversation reserved for the leagues great perimeter shooters, and the case for him only gets more interesting when the discussion widens beyond raw volume. His place among the NBAs career three-point leaders, along with his true shooting mark and long-running reputation for making difficult shots look routine, gives Portland fans plenty to argue about when his name comes up next to Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, James Harden and Ray Allen.
What keeps Lillard in that elite tier is not just how often he scores from deep, but how much of it has mattered when the game tightens. His rsum is packed with decisive late-game moments and the kind of shot-making that changes a series or flips a night in an instant, which is why the debate around his place among all-time shooters is still so lively. For Blazers fans, it is the kind of discussion that never really gets old, because Lillard has made a career out of turning pressure into something he seems built to handle. [Read more 🡒]