One of the summer’s most talked-about moves was Ja Morant’s arrival in Portland. While many assumed the point guard would depart Memphis, a good number were surprised to see him land with a franchise that counts a legend like Damian Lillard and a rising star—indeed, a player who looked the part when drafted—in Scoot Henderson.
Whichever way you slice it, the former NBA MVP candidate is now with the Blazers, and the question is how he fits into the system of the team’s new coach, Micah Nori, who, according to Jason Quick of The Athletic, doesn’t see it as entirely clear-cut.
Far from appearing willing to test with both of his superstars together at the start, the Oregon franchise’s head coach would lean toward starting with one of them and placing Jrue Holiday beside him, a move he believes would provide the defensive balance they will badly need.
«Nori said that lining Morant and Lillard up together doesn’t make sense. Both are undersized and have never stood out on the defensive end. The most solid option from an analytical standpoint would be to start Holiday — a bigger guard who is an exceptional defender — and have Morant or Lillard coming off the bench», explains the cited journalist.
Back in our Portland preview, we indeed favored exactly that setup, with, for instance, Lillard coming off the second unit; however, it won’t be until the games begin that we can prove with certainty that Nori’s plan is as announced.
