The Portland Trail Blazers will play the first game of their 2025-26 preseason schedule tonight as they face the Golden State Warriors at 7:00 PM, Pacific. The game will be televised on NBA TV nationally, KUNP in the Portland area. We’ll have a Game Day Thread up before the action and a recap after, but before we get there, let’s ask what we can look forward to during this preseason campaign.
One of the main attractions of preseason play is out, as emerging point guard Scoot Henderson has been sidelined
for at least a month with a torn left hamstring. Henderson suffered the injury during an offseason workout.
It’s no exaggeration to say that Henderson was the key focal point for the team entering the year. Newly-drafted center Yang Hansen will generate more buzz and curiosity, but his immediate impact on the team is likely to be limited no matter how the start of the year progresses. Shooting guard Shaedon Sharpe has more pressure to bloom and earn a new contract as he plays through the critical fourth year of his rookie-scale deal. Sharpe is the most likely candidate to become the #1 option in Portland’s offense, splashier and grabbing more highlights than Scoot. But no player on the team has a greater potential range between his floor and ceiling or more questions surrounding him than Henderson. Henderson also plays point guard, the most pivotal position on the floor. He not only has to evolve individually, he has to connect with teammates as an offense-initiator and play-setter.
Losing Henderson early is devastating for Portland. It takes half the teeth out of the preseason schedule. Everything the Blazers do they’ll need to re-do, and once again prove, when Henderson returns.
Veteran guard Jrue Holiday—acquired in an offseason trade—is the easiest replacement for Henderson. But Holiday already has 16 NBA seasons under his belt. He’s not going to be playing 36 minutes a game when results matter, let alone in the exhibition portion of the season. Holiday will help the Blazers check the basics, but the run should be brief.
Jerami Grant is looking to reestablish his place with the team, but his participation in preseason may be muted. Like Holiday, he’s a veteran. He’s not going to show anything over the next two weeks that we haven’t seen before. There’s no reason to put mileage on him before the real campaign starts. Even if he fit in perfectly, it’d be with lineups that will change soon anyway. The biggest questions surrounding him can’t be answered right now.
That leaves Portland cobbling together lineups (and leaders) during the upcoming four-game schedule. That will probably tip their hand as to how they’re approaching the preseason. It’ll be a time to experiment, to shuffle combinations, maybe to get a little playing time for prospective roster members. They won’t be able to display a polished, finished product. They’ll want proof of concept on some of their core emphases for the season, developing some kind of synergy among players getting used to each other and their roles.
This is not ideal for a team in Portland’s position, looking to coalesce into a contender for the playoffs, if not in them. Instead of growth towards opening day of the season, we’re likely to see a fair amount of chaos and questioning. What does the offense look like when Deni Avdija runs it? How’s Sharpe’s driving and/or shooting game progressing? Has Toumani Camara added any wrinkles to his offense? And most importantly of all, what about all those players between the 6th and 12th positions on the team? I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a game or two where lower bench players saw massive minutes.
That’s actually going to make for a more exciting preseason in a sense. It’ll serve as a bridge between Summer League and the regular season, giving us large glimpses of players like Hansen, Donovan Clingan, Kris Murray, and Rayan Rupert.
What we really needed to see, though, was a full-fledged roster taking flight after a summer of retooling. Circumstances are going to prevent that. That’s not good news for a developing team or a coach trying to prove himself by finally winning. If the season was going to start in an ideal way, this isn’t it. Hopefully we’ll get a glimmer of what this team could be during the next four games. We’re going to have to wait a while before the light gets turned on fully.
What are you looking forward to from the preseason schedule this year? Share in the comment section below.
