The Portland Trail Blazers will look to return to the middle of the Western Conference this season. Though some may argue the playing group is more talented just with the return of Damian Lillard, the regular season result shouldn’t differ too greatly to the one delivered by last season’s group.
New coach Micah Nori will have his work cut out managing egos and expectations as he balances an abundance of guards, a dearth of forwards and a list of centers. But how many players get called on to play real
minutes on a nightly basis?
The stress and length of an 82-game season will result in injuries, that’s inescapable, you just hope all of them are minor.
But assuming every Blazer, not named Shaedon Sharpe, remains relatively healthy, eight players should be penned in for regular minutes. That is Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday, Deni Avdija, Toumani Camara, Donovan Clingan, Ja Morant, Scoot Henderson and Robert Williams III.
Williams is an interesting case. Last season, his body and injury history kept him out of back-to-backs. If that continues, look for Branden Carlson to see back up minutes at the five. Consequently, Williams and Carlson would share the eighth spot if the former was unable to compete on a regular basis.
Beyond that, you’d expect Nori to go at least nine-deep, but depending on the situation, he may choose to play a 10, or even an 11th name. Given the multitude of players in the regular rotation suited to having the ball in their hands, any further bodies will need to be capable of operating without it and, ideally, closer to the rim.
So who do we look to?
Ninth: Sidy Cissoko
Position: Utility – forward
25-26: 75 games, 19.1 minutes, 5.1 points, 29.8% 3PT, 39.8% FG, 2.2 boards, 1.5 assists, 0.7 steals
The Frenchman has endeared himself to this franchise and fanbase. His energetic and competitive nature earned him real minutes during the Blazers’ first round playoff series against his former franchise in the San Antonio Spurs.
Cissoko is the Blazers’ plug-and-play body, a source of energy that can be inserted into a game to make things happen via athleticism, enthusiasm, strength and defense. His unorthodox shooting technique is yet to convert at a decent-enough rate, but Cissoko has been known to hit a shot or two when it matters.
If he was able to boost accuracy, Cissoko becomes a must-have player on this roster, given everything else he does. At 22, he’s still young enough to fine-tune that long-range shooting and boost his rate to the mid-30 percentages. If he does, he’ll be a required NBA player for the next decade.
Tenth: Vit Krejci
Position: Wing
25-26: (Half in ATL) 65 games, 21.4 minutes, 8.5 points 39.0% 3PT, 44.8%FG, 2.7 boards, 1.7 assists, 0.5 steals
The Czech saw his spot in the rotation disappear in March as a result of extremely uncharacteristically poor shooting and a bothersome calf contusion. Krejci was brought to Portland in February as a sharp shooter, someone who would hopefully boost the franchise’s long-range woes.
He failed through those final two months, hitting a disappointing 30.3 percent from the beyond the arc. For someone billed as a three-point specialist, that kind of inaccuracy was deeply disappointing. Call me the eternal optimist, but 19 games shouldn’t be enough to suggest the accuracy will never return.
Though you’d never classify Krejci as a great defender, he’s far from the worst on this team and should be able to hold his own against non-superstar, similarly sized wings. Don’t be fooled by Krejci’s 6’8 height, the European doesn’t possess the strength or frame to be able to stop larger forwards.
Eleventh: Branden Carlson
Position: Center
25-26: (OKC) 42 games, 11.6 minutes, 5.8 points, 36.0% 3PT, 52.7% FG, 3.0 boards, 0.7 assists, 0.6 blocks
We’ve obviously already spoken about the former Thunder big but on nights when Robert Williams III plays, Carlson might also be useful in the rotation. Last month, I suggestedNori could deploy Carlson and Williams together for stretches of time given their complementary skillsets.
As the NBA returns to larger frontcourts, lineups featuring players like both Carlson and Williams will become more common. Carlson’s three-point shooting would, in theory, allow him to play power forward on offense, stretching the floor. This would allow Williams to operate in pick-and-rolls and in the dunker spot.
On defense, Carlson plays the five while Williams can still guard power forwards in the paint and on the perimeter. It’s not a combination that gets used every night, but there’s every chance you see it in select scenarios throughout the campaign.
Other names
There are four additional players on the regular roster, three of whom — in Jeremy Sochan, Micah Potter and Hyun-jung Lee — who are on either non- or partially guaranteed deals. The fourth is Yang Hansen, who will most likely spend most of the year with the Rip City Remix in the G League.
There are also three two-way players in John Tonje, Chris Youngblood Jayson Kent, the latter of which will probably see the most burn given his size. But even then, he’s spending quite a lot of time with the Remix.
Conclusion
Shaedon Sharpe’s injury was a shame for multiple reasons, one of which would have resulted in a clear nine-man rotation. In his absence, the Blazers have eight names who will almost certainly get game time on opening night.
But NBA teams can’t rely on eight names for the length and breadth of an 82-game season. Coach Micah Nori will probably need 10-to-11 players he can trust enough to ensure the members of the core rotation aren’t being called on to play 38-plus minutes a night for six months straight.
While Sidy Cissoko isn’t the shooter the Blazers are in need of, he does bring a degree of size, athleticism and energy that this team will rely on. The hope is that Vit Krejci can rediscover his three-point shot and join the playing group so that opponents don’t pack the paint.
And Branden Carlson is another big body who can shoot from the frontcourt, which will be invaluable, especially on nights when Robert Williams III needs to protect his body from further injury. The Blazers roster is far from perfect but failing a serious spate of injuries, there should be enough to see them through the regular season.
