With the Portland Trail Blazers headed to Los Angeles to face the Lakers, a lineup tweak feels overdue.
That might sound like a strange suggestion for a team that has ripped through the early part of the 2026-27 NBA regular season. Portland has already beaten the Lakers on their home floor once, and the Blazers have also taken down the Sacramento Kings, Utah Jazz, Nikola Jokic’s Denver Nuggets, and Devin Booker’s Phoenix Suns twice.
Normally, when a team is rolling like that, the answer is to leave well enough alone. But this matchup presents a clear problem, and it starts with the starting five.
Scoot Henderson has struggled badly in his three starts since Ja Morant went down with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain against his former team the Memphis Grizzlies, Portland’s only loss so far. In that stretch, Henderson has averaged 10.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists while shooting 30.7 percent overall (8 of 26) and 30.7 percent from deep (4 of 13).
He has been fine defensively for much of the season, and the on/off numbers lean in his favor. But against a Lakers offense this explosive, seven games of advanced data may not tell the whole story.
Los Angeles has been a machine. Per Cleaning The Glass, which strips out garbage time and end-of-quarter possessions, the Lakers rank second in points per 100 possessions at 121.9, first in effective field goal percentage at 60.7 percent, first in free throw rate with 30.3 made free throws per 100 field goal attempts, second in rim accuracy at 74.6 percent, and second in 3-point percentage at 39.1 percent.
And then there’s Luka Doncic. He dropped 41 points on Portland in the first meeting between these teams, and he’s putting together a ridiculous offensive season. Doncic is averaging 38.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 8.0 assists while shooting 49.5 percent from the field, 43.1 percent from three, and 89.3 percent from the line on 9.4 makes in 10.5 attempts.
That’s why the Blazers should move Jrue Holiday into the starting lineup. Toumani Camara should open on Doncic and take that assignment for most of the night, but Portland needs another perimeter defender who can switch onto him without hesitation.
The concern is obvious: the Lakers may try to attack Damian Lillard on offense, and if Henderson is added to that mix, Portland could be inviting serious trouble.
The cleaner setup is to keep Lillard and Henderson from sharing the floor too often, ideally only when Doncic is on the bench, while the Sidy Cissoko-Camara-Holiday defensive group does what it can to slow down the Lakers’ scoring barrage.
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Lakers Face One Big Rotation Question With First Place At Stake
The injury report is doing a lot of the talking ahead of this Western Conference matchup, with the Lakers and Trail Blazers both trying to navigate absences at a time when every result matters. Los Angeles is without Cameron Carr and Bronny James, while Sandro Mamukelashvili is questionable because of an illness, and Walker Kessler is available as the rotation takes shape.
Portland, meanwhile, keeps showing the kind of depth that has helped it stay competitive even while missing Ja Morant, Shaedon Sharpe, John Tonje and Vit Krejci. For a Blazers team that has managed to hold its own through injuries, this is another chance to test that resilience against a Lakers group with first place in the balance. [Read more 🡒]
Blazers Get An Early Measuring Stick Against A Very Different Lakers Team
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For Portland, it is an early measuring stick in more ways than one. The Blazers will get a chance to see where they stand against a team that is playing with confidence and getting production from multiple spots, while also offering a useful read on how their own rotation stacks up in a game with some real stakes attached. It is the kind of November matchup that can say a lot about both teams, even before the standings really start to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Blazers Fast Start Is Revealing What Micah Nori Demands
Micah Nori has barely gotten settled as the new head coach in Portland, but the early tone around the Trail Blazers already sounds different. His message has centered on high standards and attention to detail, and the teams strong start has given that approach an immediate platform. With roster changes forcing some offensive adjustments, players such as Deni Avdija have already been talking about how the group is adapting on the fly.
For the Blazers, the encouraging part is not just the results but the way the new structure is taking shape this early. Noris demands are showing up in the day-to-day work, and that matters for a team trying to build something sustainable rather than just ride a hot stretch. Around the league, other teams are dealing with their own growing pains too, which only sharpens the contrast between Portlands fast start and the unfinished work that still sits ahead. [Read more 🡒]