Two games through the 2026-27 NBA regular season, first-year head coach Micah Nori is flawless. While two-thirds of the league's teams have suffered a loss, the 82-0 dream is alive and breathing for the Portland Trail Blazers.
Joking aside, considering how last year began for Portland — in which he-who-must-not-be-named was arrested as part of investigations related to illegal sports gambling and rigged poker games tied to the Mafia — this year's start must feel like that Lebron "smiling through it all, can't believe this is my life" meme. A little indulgence is deserved.
The season opener against the Phoenix Suns was pure jubilation. Damian Lillard crafted an electric performance in his official return. Ja Morant did Ja Morant things. Scoot Henderson played like a player worthy of a one-word nickname. Deni Avdija had never been so open in Portland. The offense overall flowed in a manner never seen last year, and the defense suffocated Phoenix like an anaconda.
Friday night against the Sacramento Kings, a 128-120 road victory, things leveled out a bit. Not totally surprising — it'd be pretty difficult to top a 41-point thrashing. But the Blazers didn't fall off a cliff, more so stubbed some toes.
The bad
Let's get this out of the way first since there weren't many glaring issues. The most obvious was Donovan Clingan's early foul trouble. He played just under 21 minutes, having to exit the first quarter in the first two minutes after notching two quick fouls.
The second quarter wasn't any better. Clingan picked up his third foul in about the same amount of time. By the half, he had only played 3 minutes and 41 seconds with a recorded two points and three rebounds. His minutes were much more steady in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter in which he saw over 10 minutes of action.
Thankfully, a certain center (who will be discussed soon) managed well and imposed his presence on both sides of the floor in Clingan's absence.
Moving on, not going to belabor it much, but Henderson played poorly. He shot 1-for-7 from the field and finished with four points, two assists and five fouls. His production through the first two games showed shades of the inconsistency he's struggled with for most of his career. He is allowed to have an off night like any other player — just felt a tad underwhelming, is all.
Portland's 3-point shooting was rather putrid as well at under 30 percent (14 out of 48). The Blazers, nor any team, really, can't afford to have many nights like that. Shooting 22-for-30 from the free throw line, compared to the Kings' 28-for-30 outing, must have not felt great, either.
The good
This section may come off annoyingly short to some since most of this analysis will, ultimately, have more dedicated to negatives in a game which the Blazers won. This weekend I plan to rewatch Friday's game and go a little more in-depth evaluating what I appreciated (or did not) in a piece published before Tuesday's game against the Lakers. So, please bear with me. Don't want to spoil any dessert.
The gist of it, however, is obvious. First off, Robert Williams III had a great night. He filled in exceptionally for Clingan and finished with 13 points and six rebounds, "shooting" perfectly from the field. His rim-running resulted in easy lobs and slams, and his defense remained stout. Williams' nine points in the first quarter led the Blazers after the period.
Avdija posted a team-high 26 points on a decent shooting night, excluding from beyond the arc, and added seven rebounds and six assists. Fantastic in transition, he kept the pressure on Sacramento and was rewarded with a dozen free throw attempts.
Wrapping up, Toumani Camara and Sidy Cissoko were menaces on defense and provided massive relief offensively as Lillard and Morant both shot under 40 percent from the field and 20 percent from three. The two best perimeter defenders, it's expected for them to bolster Portland on that end of that court, so when they score as well — Camara had 19 points and Cissoko 15 — it's icing on the cake.
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