The Portland Trail Blazers have one of the more skilled teams in the league, but the fit for some of their players doesn’t make much sense. After acquiring another point guard via trade, Ja Morant, the Trail Blazers now have four active point guards on their roster. They have Damian Lillard, Scoot Henderson, Jrue Holiday, and the newest member, Morant. There’s not a world where you can put all four guys out there at the same time, lineup-wise, that doesn’t make sense, so how will all of this work?
The worst part of this is that three of the four guards are ball-dominant players who need the ball in their hands to affect the game. Holiday, the most versatile of the group, could probably get away with playing at small forward because he’s the biggest and the best defender. Why go out and get Morant when they already had good guard play, you might ask? It’s a simple answer, really. Morant didn’t cost the team many assets, if any at all, because all they had to give up was Jerami Grant, who they’ve been looking to get off, due to his contract, and Kris Murray.
Holiday will pick up the opposing team’s best perimeter player, providing a true three-and-D guard they will need. The one who loses playing time from this is Henderson, as he might see his minutes drop to 20 when all three of the other guards are suited up. Morant will likely play around 30-35 minutes a night, same with Lillard, and Holiday should see 25-30 a night. All this could change based on the matchups that night, injuries, and who’s hot or cold.
Lillard should be fine off the ball, as he shoots 38.8% on all catch-and-shoot shots. The concern is the spacing, and it’s mostly between Henderson and Morant. Henderson shot 35.2% from the three-point line last year, while Morant shot a measly 23.5% from behind the arc. Some defensive strengths they’ll have are their speed and athleticism, as passing lines should be shut down. A defensive weakness they’ll have are none of them are necessarily good defenders besides Holiday so they will struggle guarding good scorers.
Morant career averages:
It’s a low risk, high reward type of trade for the Trail Blazers because after all, Morant is a former two-time All-Star, and if the price is that low, why not take a chance? He has had some off-court issues, and has dealt with injuries for years now, but maybe a change of scenery is exactly what he needs to rejuvenate his career. The downside of this is they already have a player with his archetype on the roster, and that’s Henderson, who loves to use his speed and athleticism to get downhill. They’ll most likely stagger their minutes so both players aren’t on the court at the same time, as both aren’t particularly good shooters from behind the arc.
One positive from this is Lillard, after coming off an Achilles injury, will most likely be fine with playing more off the ball, especially with his three-point shooting. The Trail Blazers projected starting lineup is Morant, Lillard, Deni Avdija, Toumani Camara, and Donovan Clingan. Maybe this is a good problem to have, just in case players get hurt, they most certainly have the talent at the guard position to make up for that. Henderson came off his third season in the league and averaged 14.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game in 30 appearances.
This will be one of the more intriguing teams to watch next season, as they have all the talent to succeed, but the fit will not allow that to happen. Look for tons of paint touches from Henderson, Morant, and Avdija leading to kick outs to open shooters. In the right system, Lillard will have a field day playing alongside great rim runners, as he should get open catch-and-shoot opportunities. It might not look perfect on paper, but this Trail Blazers squad could do some serious damage in a loaded Western Conference.
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