The Portland Trail Blazers are figuring out, slowly but surely, who they want in their starting lineup moving forward.
It’s a work in progress, but with the way things are set up this season, the Blazers are hoping to roll out with Deni Avdija, Jrue Holiday, Toumani Camara, Jerami Grant and Donovan Clingan when they are all healthy. Bleacher Report writer Grant Hughes graded all 30 starting lineups in the NBA and placed the Blazers at a “B-minus.”
“This lineup is a delight on paper and a disaster in a small-sample on-court reality,” Hughes wrote. “Is it bad to get outscored by 28.0 points per 100 possessions? Because it seems bad.
“Fear not. Opponents will probably make fewer than 51.1 percent of their threes, and it seems even less likely they’ll drill 66.7 percent of them from the corners, which has been the case so far. When those numbers regress, Portland’s preferred current starters should perform much better than the league average on D while scoring enough to win their minutes.
“Spacing is a concern, but Holiday is quietly enjoying a late-career playmaking renaissance after doing mostly spot-up work with the Celtics. If Camara and Grant can be threats from the outside, Avdija’s elite drive and foul-drawing game will make the Blazers dangerous against anyone.”
Blazers Starting Lineup Shows Promise For Future