The Portland Trail Blazers are off to a 5-1 start to the 2026-27 season, an impressive look for a team with new players, a new coach, and a new style of play. But according to Jason Quick of The Athletic [subscription required], seamless and trouble-free basketball was always the plan. Blazers Head Coach Micah Nori baked it into the system, especially when it comes to franchise All-Star Deni Avdija.
A hot start was not always assured, particularly when the Blazers traded for guard Ja Morant over the summer.
Morant has historically been a big scorer, a ball-dominant player. So, too, Damian Lillard, returning from injury this year for the Blazers. Avdija himself was concerned about his fit with the team with two potential Mt. Rushmore players coming on board. Per Quick, the forward called his new coach to inquire about the plan:
“I wasn’t thinking negatively,’’ Avdija said. “But having two dominant guards join the team who are All-Star caliber … it raises some questions.’’
Nori was quick to respond:
In their initial conversation, Nori assured Avdija that he would still flourish. He told him Morant was a pass-first point guard. He told him Damian Lillard attracts as much attention as anybody in the league, which would draw defenders off of Avdija. And he told him about secondary actions, where he could take advantage of mismatches instead of having to beat four or five defenders at a time.
By the time Avdija hung up, he felt reassured. He felt valued.
“He just was aware of what my strengths are, and he wanted me to continue the progression I made last season, he told me that was very important for him,” Avdija said. “I felt that. And I felt he really knew what was best for the team.”
Quick goes on to describe Nori’s penchant for drawing up deep, rich plays to take advantage of the talents on his team, including Avdija and the guards.
Nori’s office can resemble the lab of a mad scientist; the large whiteboard on the wall is crammed with arrows, and lines, and circles and X’s. That whiteboard displays all innovative plays that can pique the curiosity of even the most cerebral players. Lillard has remarked that he likes to visit, just to see what Nori has cooked up next.
Whether or not the experiment works long-term—both internally and in terms of producing wins—remains to be seen. But the results so far are inarguable, which is no doubt the way Nori and his star players like it.
