The Biggest Question the Blazers Still Haven't Answered This Offseason

There may not be a team in the NBA that has more starting-caliber point guards than the Portland Trail Blazers.

Ja Morant, Damian Lillard, Scoot Henderson and Jrue Holiday are all on the roster and there are questions surrounding how first-year head coach Micah Nori will distribute minutes amongst the foursome. Assuming there is at least two of them on the floor at all times, here's a rotation projection amongst the point guards.

Ja Morant

Morant comes to the Blazers after spending seven seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies as their starting point guard. Morant has been the face of the franchise ever since he stepped foot into the FedEx Forum, and he comes to the Blazers with a bit of a different situation. He isn't guaranteed to be the number one guy for the Blazers, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad thing.

Morant will continue to be a key part of the Blazers, but he will have to rework his game to mesh with his other teammates, especially the point guards. Morant is one of the best drivers in the league, averaging just under 16 drives per game this past season, albeit on a small sample size of just 20 games.

Over the course of his career, he has been one of the top drivers in the league. That should still be Morant's primary source of offense as he attacks the rim, tries to get fouled, and heads to the free-throw line. If Morant is drawing fouls and generating offense for the Blazers, it will be very hard for him to come off the court.

Morant has averaged 31.7 minutes per game across his career, but he set a career low in that statistic last season at 28.5. He has only played in 79 games across the last three seasons, so the Blazers might tread with caution in giving him high minutes so that he can preserve himself for the entire regular season and playoff run.

Damian Lillard

Damian Lillard's minutes will also have to be monitored, as he has missed the last year with a torn Achilles. Over the course of his career, he has consistently averaged just over 36 minutes per game, even as someone in his mid-30s. The Blazers can't expect him to reach those numbers this year, especially with so many other point guards to play.

That being said, the Blazers will still heavily rely on Lillard to be the leader of the team, both on and off the court. His threat on the three-point line is something the Blazers sorely missed last season, and his career 37.1 percent from distance should make him a player that is consistently in games. It's about finding that happy medium of giving him minutes while also preserving his health and giving opportunities to others.

Scoot Henderson

Henderson has only started 52 games in his three-year career so far, so coming off the bench won't be an unfamiliar feeling for him. Even though he has come off the bench for a majority of his career, he still has averaged 27 minutes across the last three years. He received more minutes earlier in his career when Portland was not aiming for the playoffs, but now that they are, his minutes could take a bit of a hit.

Henderson isn't as dynamic of a driver as Morant, nor is he as prolific of a shooter as Lillard, but he is still incredibly capable. The Blazers should feel confident in his abilities when Morant or Lillard are on the sidelines.

Jrue Holiday

Holiday will likely undergo the biggest change out of any of the four players in the backcourt in 1,090 career games. He started in 1,007 of them last season for the Blazers. He made 51 starts in 53 appearances, but his minutes per game were at 29.4, which was the lowest of his career since the 2015-16 season when he was coming off a leg injury with the New Orleans Pelicans.

Jrue Holiday should be accepting of a smaller role as he enters his age-36 season, but his defense is still very strong. That part of his game will keep him on the court. Offensively, he still has something in the tank, averaging 16.3 points per game, which was the highest scoring output in his career since the 2022-23 campaign, when he was an All-Star for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Holiday's scoring average should take a dip in the upcoming season with Lillard, Morant, and Henderson all back in the fold. Even though he's taking a bit of a step back, the Blazers will still rely on him heavily.

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