Damian Lillard left no doubt about what powered Portland’s latest win in Utah: the Trail Blazers came in prepared, stayed connected, and defended with purpose.
After a 112-90 road rout of the Jazz, Lillard said the difference started before the ball ever tipped. Portland, now 4-1, has been building momentum early in the season, and the veteran guard credited the team’s attention to detail for helping it stay sharp in a tricky road spot.
“We dialed in to the scouting report,” said Lillard post-game. “We knew we were gonna get in that altitude and that it was gonna have us a little bit windy, but we paid attention to the scouting report, and we were on top of it. We turned the ball over a little bit, got sped up a little bit, but we were sharp; we defended, we rebounded the ball, and I think that allowed us to get off to a good start, and we held it down from there.”
Portland controlled the game for most of the night, winning every quarter except the fourth, when the outcome was already settled. The Blazers’ defense was the real separator, as Utah was held to 37.2% shooting.
Lillard pointed to the team’s communication and discipline on the defensive end as the key to slowing the Jazz down.
“I thought it was really good,” Lillard said. “When we wanted to keep DC [Donovan Clingan] in the paint when they wanted to run guys in the pick and roll, we communicated well, and we switched up onto the ball aggressively, to where they weren’t coming up comfortably on pull-up threes.
Even with that, we didn’t let them turn the corner and get into the paint. We had some distance on the ball, and we were in the passing lanes - we were on a string.
We did it consistently, and it led to a pretty good win for us.”
Lillard also had one of those nights where his defense mattered just as much as his scoring. He has never been viewed as a shutdown stopper, particularly after his Achilles tear, but he made plays, stayed active, and helped set the tone when Utah tried to target him.
“To start the quarter, I kept hearing their coach yelling out for my guy to set ball screens to try to put me in an action,” Lillard added. “We got coverages where I might show, but at some point, you’re gonna have to switch, and you’re gonna have to guard. In that third quarter, I said if they run up there, I’m just gonna switch and jump into the ball and get some stops, and that’s what I did.”
The Blazers are dealing with major injuries and still face a crowded Western Conference, but Lillard said the formula is simple: handle the games you’re supposed to handle. Against Utah, Portland did exactly that.
Lillard finished with 22 points, five rebounds, four assists, two steals, and one block while shooting 35.3% from the field. With the win, the Trail Blazers are tied with the Thunder for the fourth seed in the West, and early signs suggest there’s real substance behind this start if the group can stay healthy.
In Other News...
Deni Avdija Is Giving Blazers Fans A Real Rotation Debate
Deni Avdija keeps making it harder for the Trail Blazers to think of him as anything less than a central piece of what they are doing. In Portlands 112-90 win over Utah, he led the team with 24 points and was right in the middle of a defensive effort that turned the game into a comfortable road victory, the clubs third away win of the season.
The Blazers forced 20 turnovers and held the Jazz to 37% shooting, the kind of performance that usually reflects more than just one hot night from a scorer. With Micah Nori starting Scoot Henderson in place of the injured Ja Morant and managing minutes for veterans Jrue Holiday and Damian Lillard, Avdijas all-around impact only sharpened the question of where he fits when the rotation gets tighter and the games start to matter more. [Read more 🡒]
Blazers Win Offered A Telling Early Look At Portlands Rotation
The early-season road trip has already given Portland a clearer picture of how its rotation might take shape, and the latest stop only sharpened that view. In a 112-90 win over Utah, the Trail Blazers moved to 3-0 away from home and 4-1 overall, with Scoot Henderson stepping into the starting group in place of the injured Ja Morant and logging the most minutes on the team. He finished with 14 points and three steals, part of a night when Portlands depth and defensive energy stood out from the opening stretch.
Deni Avdija again looked like one of the most important pieces in the mix, pacing all players with 24 points while posting a plus-minus of plus-32. Jakub Krejci also showed some encouraging signs after a slow start to the season, another small but useful development for a team still sorting out who fits where. For a roster trying to find its identity early, wins like this can be about more than the final score. [Read more 🡒]
Ja Morant Injury Puts Blazers Early Momentum On Edge
Ja Morants early run with Portland had given the Blazers a jolt of pace and playmaking, but that momentum hit a hard pause when he went down with a left hamstring injury in a recent game. The setback comes after a promising opening stretch in which Morant averaged 16.3 points and 6.3 assists in his first three games, enough to suggest the fit was taking shape quickly for a team trying to build something early.
Now the Blazers are back to reshuffling on the fly, with Scoot Henderson moving into the starting lineup and other rotation pieces feeling the ripple effects of Morants absence. Deni Avdija and Vit Krejci are among the players whose roles have shifted, and Portland will have to keep sorting out the backcourt and wing mix while Morant waits to be reevaluated in four weeks. [Read more 🡒]