The Portland Trail Blazers got back in the practice facility Monday morning as they prepare for their fast-approaching preseason opener against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday.
Following practice in Tualatin, Blazers head coach Micah Nori, Jrue Holiday and Sidy Cissoko met with reporters for media availability. Some noteworthy tidbits from the interviews are listed below, along with video.
Rob Will’s Health is Good
The Trail Blazers hosted their annual Fan Fest at the Moda Center on Sunday, but the keen observer noticed
reserve center Robert Williams III wasn’t in attendance. That absence prompted concern and speculation about Williams’ health status in the Blazer’s Edge comment section and on other social media sites.
Nori put those worries to bed on Monday, telling reporters that Williams missed Fan Fest due to a personal family matter, and he’s all good health-wise.
“He’s all good to go,” Nori said.
Micah Nori, For the People
One of the best scenes of Fan Fest didn’t happen on the court; it took place a few rows into the stands along the sideline opposite the team benches. During the break between the third and fourth quarters of the scrimmage, Nori strolled over and set up shop on the staircase there. Then the new head coach signed autographs, took selfies, and chatted with a line of excited young fans, as the meet-and-greet extended into the early minutes of the fourth quarter.
“In that situation with Fan Fest, when you’re talking about kids sitting in the front row, a lot of those guys don’t get opportunities throughout the regular season, so [I’m] just trying to give them as much experience as possible,” Nori said about the sequence at the event, which is free for attending fans.
Then he added with a smile: “And it was kinda nice because it was a leeway of I didn’t have to watch bad basketball — fun-to-watch basketball, but every concept we ever worked on went out the window. And that’s okay.”
Jrue Holiday’s Vote for Training Camp MVP…
During Holiday’s media availability, I asked the NBA veteran about who he would select for Blazers training camp MVP this fall. Holiday provided an answer that will likely excite fans: Scoot Henderson.
“Scoot’s been playing really well,” he said. “He’s doing a lot of everything, knocking down 3s, getting into the paint, putting pressure on the rim and then picking up full court.”
Sidy Cissoko Channels Dame
Before Ja Morant won the Fan Fest scrimmage tiebreaker for the Blazers Black Team with a halfcourt swish, Blazers wing Sidy Cissoko had a chance to win it for the Grey Team in regulation with the score tied at 96-96.
With the shot clock set to expire only about five seconds before the game clock, Cissoko dribbled down the time from the deep right wing as forward Jayson Kent guarded him 1-on-1. Then, just before the shot clock expired, Cissoko sidestepped right and launched a deep 3-pointer. The moonshot skied off the backend of the rim, opening the door for Morant to play Fan Fest hero minutes later.
Save for the outcome, the closing walk-down and shot from Cissoko resembled Damian Lillard’s iconic buzzer-beater against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2019 Playoffs. As Cissoko explained on Monday, that resemblance wasn’t a coincidence. He was trying to channel his inner Dame with the play — especially because Lillard, also a member of the Grey Team, was up off the bench and encouraging Cissoko from the near-sideline. And Sunday wasn’t the first time he’s tried to copy that classic shot.
“I was watching [Lillard], that’s why he stood up,” Cissoko said, smiling. “… Even sometimes here at practice, I try to do that shot, even when I’m at Moda. I remember when I did the Nike Hoop Summit [in 2022], me and Tyrese Proctor, we were just trying to do his shot because it’s far as hell.”
