Jrue Holiday is making it awfully hard for the Trail Blazers to imagine a different finish.
Ja Morant’s injury has changed the way Portland closes games, and the lineup that’s emerged looks a lot like a pressure-packed answer to the problem. Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday, Deni Avdija, Toumani Camara and Donovan Clingan have become the group head coach Micah Nori leans on at the end, and the results have been loud. Per Cleaning the Glass, that five-man unit owns a +74 net rating in 54 possessions.
That’s the kind of number that gets your attention fast, and it’s giving Portland something close to a death lineup. Morant’s absence has forced the issue, but it also seems to have clarified what this team wants to be when the game tightens up.
Nori has already shown he values Holiday’s role exactly where it is. He never bumped Holiday into the starting five, even with Morant opening the season in that spot, and that says plenty about how much the coach trusts Holiday’s versatility and experience as an off-the-bench weapon. The message is pretty clear: starting matters less than closing.
The comparison that jumps out is Golden State’s old death lineup, with Andre Iguodala sliding in off the bench and becoming the kind of player you absolutely wanted on the floor when everything was on the line. Holiday fits that mold in Portland. He can cover multiple holes, steady the group, and still give you enough on both ends to keep the whole thing humming.
That approach is helping fuel Portland’s 8-3 start. It also lines up with the John Wooden line that, “It’s not so important who starts the game, but who finishes it.” Nori appears to be coaching exactly that way.
The tricky part now is what happens when Morant returns. He still matters to the Blazers’ ceiling, and the trade was already starting to look like it was working before the injury. But Portland’s success without him, and the way this closing group has taken off, makes it hard to ignore that he may be the odd man out when the game gets serious.
That doesn’t mean Morant disappears from the picture in crunch time. Nori has already mixed and matched late, flipping offense for defense depending on the situation. But the current shape of the roster points toward a more defense-heavy finish, with Holiday over Morant.
That fits this team. Avdija is handling the point-forward load and building on his All-Star campaign, which means Portland doesn’t need one player monopolizing the ball.
What it needs is perimeter balance: Lillard, Camara and Holiday defending, spacing, and giving Avdija enough support to keep the offense moving. Between Lillard and Holiday, there’s still plenty of secondary playmaking.
For Joe Cronin, the roster may finally be revealing a workable formula. For Nori, it looks like the right coach is in place to sort through the pieces.
And for Holiday, the impact goes beyond experience. He’s not just filling a role in the closing lineup.
He’s upgrading it.
In Other News...
Blazers Trade Talk Around Scoot Just Got More Serious
Scoot Hendersons uneven start has only kept the conversation around Portlands backcourt moving, and now the speculation has widened into something more concrete. The idea floating around is a swap with Charlotte that would send Henderson one way and Naz Reid the other, a deal built around two players whose seasons have gone in very different directions so far.
For Portland, the appeal is easy to see: Hendersons talent is still part of the long-term picture, but the early returns have made every roster question feel bigger. Reids strong play has only sharpened the comparison, and while nothing official has been reported, the mere fact that this kind of trade is being discussed says plenty about where the Blazers are in sorting out their direction. [Read more 🡒]
Blazers Suddenly Have A Depth Problem Joe Cronin Can't Ignore
The early-season injury pileup has left Portland searching for answers on the wing, and general manager Joe Cronin is already looking for help. With Vit Krejci sidelined by an ankle fracture, the Trail Blazers already thin rotation on the perimeter has gotten even harder to manage, forcing the front office to confront a problem that was easy to see coming but now feels urgent.
The roster has been stretched by injuries across the board, with the absences of players such as Krejci, Ja Morant, Shaedon Sharpe and Chris Youngblood exposing just how little margin Portland has at the position. Trade possibilities are already being weighed, including options with the Los Angeles Clippers, but the bigger issue is straightforward: the Blazers need another wing, and they need one before the lack of depth starts dictating how they can play. [Read more 🡒]
Blazers Have One Chance To Silence Doubts In Sacramento
The early-season buzz around Portland has shifted quickly, and with an 8-3 start the Trail Blazers have gone from curiosity to a team people are starting to mention in the playoff conversation. Wins have helped change the tone around this group, and the mix of established talent and rising contributors has given the roster a more credible look than many expected this soon.
Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday have provided the kind of backbone that keeps Portland steady, while younger pieces like Toumani Camara and Sidy Cissoko have added to the sense that this start is not just a hot streak. Still, the Blazers know perception in the NBA can turn fast, and the trip to Sacramento offers a chance to keep building that case against a familiar Western Conference test. [Read more 🡒]