Armed with elite playmaking and a stingy defense, Portland’s new leader must balance offensive star power with rotation flexibility to transform the Blazers into Western Conference contenders.
New Portland Trail Blazers head coach Micah Nori is walking into one of the better situations for any first-year head coach in the NBA.
Portland is coming off a 42-win season and its first playoff appearance in five years, and the roster has only become more talented since. The Blazers added Ja Morant to an already deep group while Damian Lillard is set to make his return after missing last season recovering from a torn Achilles.
That doesn’t mean Nori’s job will be easy.
With more talent comes more decisions, especially for a roster with several players capable of handling the ball and deserving significant minutes. There are plenty of things Nori will need to get right in his first season, but two stand out above the rest if Portland is going to make another jump.
Maintain a balanced attack
Portland’s defense became its calling card as last season progressed.
The Blazers finished 14th in defensive rating for the full season, but their defense reached another level after the All-Star break. Donovan Clingan gave Portland a legitimate anchor around the rim, while Toumani Camara continued to establish himself as one of the NBA’s premier perimeter defenders.
That’s an identity Nori can’t afford to lose.
At the same time, Portland needs to improve offensively. The Blazers finished just 20th in offensive rating last season, and becoming a legitimate threat in the Western Conference will require them to be considerably more consistent on that end.
Luckily for Nori, he has more offensive firepower to work with.
Deni Avdija emerged as an All-Star last season, averaging 24.2 points and 6.7 assists per game, and Portland has since added Morant while getting Lillard back in the fold. Those three alone give Nori significantly more shot creation and playmaking than Portland had for much of last season.
The challenge will be improving one side without sacrificing the other.
The best teams generally aren’t able to survive with one elite side of the ball and another that ranks near the bottom of the league. Portland doesn’t necessarily need to become a top-five offense, but getting closer to league average or better while maintaining its defensive identity would give the Blazers a much more sustainable formula.
That becomes even more important with Shaedon Sharpe sidelined after undergoing surgery for a torn meniscus. Until Sharpe returns, Nori will have to determine how to maximize Portland’s new offensive weapons without compromising what made the team successful defensively.
Remain flexible with the rotation
There’s been no shortage of conversation surrounding Portland’s guard rotation this offseason.
Morant, Lillard, Jrue Holiday and Scoot Henderson are all capable of playing significant minutes, while Avdija will continue to have the ball in his hands frequently. Eventually, Sharpe will return and make the rotation puzzle even more complicated.
Nori obviously needs to establish some sort of hierarchy, but he also can’t become married to it.
Production rises and falls throughout an NBA season. Matchups change. Players get hot. Injuries happen. What Portland’s best rotation looks like in October may be completely different from what it looks like in December or March.
If Henderson begins the season in a complementary role off the bench but puts together a dominant stretch in December, Nori needs to be willing to lean into it. That could mean playing Henderson more at the expense of Morant, Holiday or another veteran on a particular night.
The same principle applies throughout the roster.
Nori has already indicated that he’s more concerned with finding the right closing combinations than simply determining who starts games. That’s exactly the type of flexibility Portland needs from its new coach.
There’s enough talent on this roster for the Blazers to be very good. Nori’s challenge will be finding the right combination of that talent at the right times while ensuring Portland improves its weaknesses without losing the strengths that got it back to the postseason in the first place.
