The Portland Trail Blazers have already shown they can get rolling early this season. They opened with six wins in their first seven games, but the last two outings have dragged them back toward reality, capped by a 125-103 loss to San Antonio on Saturday night that matched their lowest point total of the season.
Now the focus turns to Tuesday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the rotation question is hard to ignore. Portland has depth, but the cleanest fix may be the simplest one: move Jrue Holiday into the starting lineup.
That would mean Scoot Henderson heads to the bench after opening the season in a bigger role because of Ja Morant’s injury. The problem is that the former No. 3 overall pick has not found his footing. In nine games, Henderson has posted career-low numbers across the board, shooting 32.9 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from 3-point range.
There’s no question that sending Henderson to the second unit could sting in the short term. It could also affect his confidence and development in what is still just his fourth season. But Portland has already felt the cost of his inefficiency, and the lineup could use a jolt.
Holiday has given the Blazers exactly that through the first nine games. He’s averaging 13.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.0 assists while also picking up a steal per game.
More importantly, he’s been far more efficient, hitting 51.3 percent of his shots and 42.9 percent from deep. He’s also bringing the kind of perimeter defense that can change the tone of a game.
That matters against Oklahoma City, one of the league’s best defensive teams. Portland has also been fighting slow starts in both halves over its last two games, and Henderson’s shooting struggles could make that problem even worse in a matchup like this.
Holiday gives the Blazers a better chance to come out sharp on Tuesday and avoid another early hole or a sluggish opening to the second half.
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Blazers Face A Revealing Test As Early Momentum Starts To Slip
The Trail Blazers fast start has already given way to a small but meaningful wobble, with Portland dropping two straight after opening the 2026-27 season 6-1. Now comes a trip into a more revealing part of the schedule, with the Oklahoma City Thunder waiting as a test of whether the Blazers early surge was built to last or simply a hot opening stretch.
Oklahoma City is still dangerous because of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the kind of top-end talent that can punish mistakes, even if the Thunder are also dealing with significant injuries of their own. Portland is not exactly catching a fully stocked opponent, either, which makes this matchup less about clean comparisons and more about which team can manage its absences, stay organized, and avoid letting a brief skid turn into something bigger. [Read more 🡒]
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The Thunder are coming to Portland over two nights with a lot of the attention still on how they manage life without three key injured players, but they also arrive carrying an 8-2 record and the leagues best defense. For the Trail Blazers, this is the kind of early-season measuring-stick game that can tell you a lot, especially after a few recent losses and with several of their own players sidelined.
Even with both teams dealing with absences, the matchup has been priced and projected as a tight one, with advanced models and betting markets leaning slightly toward Oklahoma City. For Portland, that creates a familiar kind of challenge: a chance to prove it can hang with one of the NBAs most complete teams, even if the margin for error is thin and the roster is not at full strength. [Read more 🡒]