The Trail Blazers’ unbeaten start hit its first snag Thursday night, and the Memphis Grizzlies made sure it never felt close late. Memphis rolled to a 124-103 win at Moda Center, using a 21-point second-half edge to hand Portland its first loss and stay perfect at 5-0.
For Portland, it was the first real look at what happens when the offense gets dragged into the mud. The Blazers had been rolling with the NBA’s hottest attack, averaging 129.3 points and 45.7 field goals per game while shooting 51.1% overall and 45.7% from deep.
Against Memphis, none of that held up. The Grizzlies’ length, athleticism and youthful bounce clearly bothered Portland, and the shots that had been falling all season mostly stayed out.
Damian Lillard had a long night from the jump, missing nine of his first 10 shots. Deni Avdija swung between good stretches and quiet ones, while Ja Morant also faded after the break. By the middle of the fourth quarter, Portland was looking up at a 20-point hole, and the final numbers told the story: the Blazers finished with their lowest scoring output of the season, shooting 40.7% from the floor and 24.5% from three-point range.
Morant’s night carried its own subplot. He brushed off the matchup beforehand, saying he carried “no hard feelings” toward the team that traded him or the coach who once suspended him, and called it “just another game on the schedule.”
The game, though, had a different script. Morant opened strong, making his first three shots and going 5 of 8 in the first half.
He had 12 points and two assists at the break, giving Portland the same burst of scoring and playmaking that has helped fuel its early success.
That didn’t last. Morant cooled off after halftime and then sat out the closing minutes with a wrap around his left leg after tweaking his hamstring. He finished with 14 points and three assists on 6-for-14 shooting in what turned into a rough return against his former team.
Portland also had to deal with its first notable injury issue of the young season. Backup center Rob Williams did not play because of a sore left knee, a concerning note for a player whose Portland stint has already been shaped by knee problems.
Micah Nori said before the game that the Blazers were holding Williams out partly for precautionary reasons, especially with games coming every other day over the next week. Nori also noted that Williams, who played last season under a minute restriction and did not appear in both games of back-to-backs, could use the rest.
Williams has been a big part of Portland’s early surge, averaging 9.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.0 blocks while giving the second unit scoring, athleticism and defense. Against Memphis, the Blazers felt his absence. Branden Carlson and Micah Potter filled in and combined for just three points, four rebounds and a minus-18 plus-minus.
It was only one night, and it came on a cold shooting night, but Portland looked every bit like a team that missed its backup big man.
In Other News...
Blazers Suddenly Face A Ja Morant Problem They Couldnt Afford
Ja Morants first game against Memphis since the trade ended with an unwelcome twist for Portland. The matchup already carried extra weight because the Blazers had sent Jerami Grant and Kris Murray to the Grizzlies in the deal that brought Morant to town, and the night was supposed to be another step in settling the new roster into place.
Instead, Morant left in the fourth quarter with a left hamstring injury and was later diagnosed with a Grade 2 strain. The early timetable calls for at least four weeks on the sideline, which leaves Portland trying to absorb the reality of a major addition going missing almost immediately, right as the team was hoping to build momentum around him. [Read more 🡒]
Blazers Bench Suddenly Has A Problem They Can't Ignore
Vit Krejci was supposed to give the Trail Blazers a little extra spacing off the bench, the kind of low-cost shooting help that can make a second unit easier to play through. Instead, his early season production has been hard to ignore. He is averaging just 1.8 points per game and has been buried at 14.3 percent from three-point range, a sharp drop from the perimeter touch he showed in previous seasons with the Hawks.
For Portland, the issue goes beyond one cold stretch. The Blazers have been trying to piece together enough reliable shooting around a roster that already has to account for Damian Lillards current limitations after injury, and Krejci was one of the names expected to help keep the floor open. When that shot is not falling, the bench loses a layer of usefulness, and the coaching staff is left searching for a cleaner answer on the wing. [Read more 🡒]
Blazers Fans Have Another Robert Williams Concern To Watch
Robert Williams was already sitting out because of a sore knee, and for a Portland team that has been trying to manage every bit of frontcourt health carefully, the latest injury watch around the league only adds to the unease. Around the NBA, the list of players leaving games early or missing time keeps growing, which is the sort of backdrop that makes every update on Williams feel a little more important than the last.
The most immediate reminder came in Utah, where rookie guard Darryn Peterson put up 18 points in 26 minutes during the Jazzs loss to San Antonio but did not see the floor in the final seven minutes or overtime. Will Hardy said the choice came down to execution issues and a preference for Brice Sensabaughs scoring late, a small but telling example of how quickly late-game plans can shift when health, rhythm and trust all start pulling in different directions. [Read more 🡒]