Portland shocked pretty much everyone last season, winning 42 games and making the playoffs. A huge reason for that? They finally built an offensive identity, running everything through Deni Avdija. His usage rate absolutely blew up to 28.5 percent, he became an All-Star, and the Blazers actually had a clear plan. But now, Ja Morant and Damian Lillard are walking right into that same offense, with Jrue Holiday and Scoot Henderson still on the roster. Seriously, what in the world is the plan here?
Too Many Cooks In The Kitchen, And Everyone Wants The Ball
This is the biggest head-scratcher. Morant needs the ball, we all know that. Lillard has spent his entire career with the ball in his hands. Avdija just had the best season of his career specifically because Portland *finally* gave him the ball. Scoot Henderson is still developing, he needs those reps with the ball to grow. And let’s not forget Holiday, who averaged 16.3 points and 6.1 assists last year and is definitely expecting a real role. Even the Blazers’ own preseason coverage has hammered home how crowded this backcourt is and how many guys need touches. It feels like they’re going backward from what made them work last season. Instead of continuing to build around Avdija, Clingan, and Camara, they just kept adding more ball-dominant guards to a roster that was already stacked with them. They might have added talent, but I am not convinced they made themselves a better basketball team.
Spacing? What Spacing?
And then there’s the spacing, or lack thereof. It’s not looking good, folks. Ja Morant shot a dismal 23.5 percent from three last season. Avdija is way more effective driving downhill, attacking the rim, than just standing around on the perimeter. If you put those two next to Clingan and then another non-shooting big or even a wing who can’t stretch the floor, you can already picture the offensive mess. It reminds me of the issues Dallas faced when they tried to play Anthony Davis with a bunch of wings and limited shooting. The court is just going to be absolutely jammed up, making it easy for defenses to collapse.
I gotta say, though, Micah Nori taking over as head coach from Tiago Splitter gives me the most pause when trying to write this whole thing off. If Nori can figure out this hierarchy quickly, if he can somehow make all these pieces fit and get everyone on the same page, maybe, just maybe, this *could* work. But that’s a HUGE ask for a first-time head coach with this many ball-dominant players. We’re all gonna be watching closely to see if he can pull off what feels like a basketball miracle this season.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Mavs Moneyball.
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