The Portland Trail Blazers continued their march toward Wednesday’s regular-season opener with morning practice in Tualatin on Monday. Afterward, local media caught up with Portland head coach Micah Nori as well as veteran guards Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday to discuss a variety of preseason storylines.
Below are takeaways and video from those discussions.
The Blazers ‘Need to F—ing Rebound’
While looking over the tape of Sunday’s media availability sessions, a soundbite from Portland center Robert Williams III caught my attention.
“I feel like we’ve got a long way to go, obviously,” Williams said about the team’s progress leading up to the season. “I feel like we’re hungry. … But we need to f—ing rebound. That’s it man.”
Defensive rebounding has been a major point of emphasis for Portland throughout the preseason after the team excelled on the offensive glass but ranked just No. 17 on the defensive glass last season. That issue showed in Friday’s preseason finale against the Golden State Warriors when the Blazers surrendered 10 offensive rebounds, including nine in the first half that put Portland in an early hole.
So on Monday, I mentioned Williams’ blunt analysis to Micah Nori, asking how Portland can improve in that area and if it simply amounts to effort.
“I think what Rob is saying is we all need to help rebound,” Nori said. “Not necessarily just go and get it, but if you see the smalls on a five-man, they need all the help they can get. We just work too hard to get stops. The league is now changing where everybody is crashing, so [rebounding] is such a big piece of what you’re doing. It’s so deflating when you work hard for 24 seconds of the shot clock, they shoot one, next thing you know, they rebound, and it’s a kick-out 3.”
Nori mentioned the old coaching adage that “every drill is a passing drill,” meaning that every drill should require crisp passing even if that’s not the drill’s primary focus. He said the Blazers view their drills the same with regards to rebounding, meaning no drill ends until the defense secures the ball.
“We’re imploring guys to crash so that we get a good look at what it looks like and what it feels like,” Nori said. “And every single drill that we do live — whether it be halfcourt or up and down — [we’re] just finishing off and making sure that we play it all the way through the possession. So I guess it’s just repetition. … It is an effort thing, but there’s also a little bit of talent to it.”
Lillard Discusses His Minutes Plan
After missing the 2025-26 season with a torn Achilles, Blazers guard Damian Lillard enjoyed a solid preseason run in his return to live games. Lillard appeared in three games, averaging 17.3 points in 22.7 minutes per outing while shooting 8-21 on 3-pointers.
On Monday, Lillard was happy to report he left all those games still feeling fresh, in part because he has transitioned to a larger off-ball role amid a roster full of other guards.
“Some people might say it’s preseason, but after being out for a year, you would think it would be hard to recover,” Lillard said. “And I think a lot of [still feeling fresh] is because I’m not having to work so hard to bring the ball up, to create advantages, to beat so many people.”
Considering that surrounding guard depth and the fact Lillard is 36, the star said he likely won’t have to carry a super high minutes load this season so the team can preserve his best for the playoffs. Still, Lillard made it clear the plan to manage his minutes more cautiously has to do with being smart, not his fitness, health or ability.
“I don’t want it to be misunderstood: I’m not an old man,” said Lillard, getting laughs from the reporting scrum. “Seriously, though. I want to be responsible and take care of myself because of how many years I’ve played and the wear-and-tear. The miles, they add up. So it’s important to be smart because I want to be healthy for the entire season, and when we get to the postseason, I want to be fresh. And we have the luxury to make that happen, so I think that’s the conversation. But I have prepared, and I’m strong, and I’m willing and able to do whatever is needed.”
Jrue Holiday on a 10-Man Rotation
Nori reiterated on Monday that he plans to run a 10-man regular rotation this season. Holiday told reporters he appreciates that game plan.
“I think the minutes are split up and you can have maybe shorter bursts where you have a lot more energy and you don’t get as tired,” Holiday said. “As well as just, I think it builds trust throughout the team knowing that you have 10 or 11 guys who are gonna play. We have depth. And I think that’s something that we should use if we have it.”
