Trail Blazers: Nassir Little deserves a chance in the rotation

With the Portland Trail Blazers roster looking thin and underwhelming, does Nassir Little deserve a regular shot in the rotation?

The Portland Trail Blazers have endured a rocky start to the season, and several regulars in the rotation have performed in a mediocre fashion. With the injury report also piling up, Terry Stotts could benefit from some new blood to pick from. Step forward, Nassir Little.

Little, who was drafted by Portland with the 25th pick in the 2019 NBA draft out of North Carolina, has not seen the court much this season. His potential is clear, but seems to be viewed as a ‘raw talent’ as of now, at least by Stotts and the Portland coaching staff. However, the 19 year old impressed in his season début Friday night, and showed off the sort of qualities he could bring to the Blazers rotation.

Qualities

Little recorded 8 points, 3 rebounds, a steal and a block in 18 minutes of action vs the Brooklyn Nets, and proved he possesses qualities that the Blazers are currently lacking in right now. Size, athleticism, and defensive tenacity. Through 10 games, Portland is giving up 114.6 PPG, which ranks 23rd in the NBA. They are lacking clear-cut defenders, but Little showed in his début that he can indeed defend. He zipped around the court, and displayed energy and good footwork; my favorite play came when the rookie was switched onto a red-hot Spencer Dinwiddie, Little was expected to get cooked here, but he stayed with the guard, and forced him into a contested three.

Little even got himself on the highlight reel, as he showed off his bounce in posterizing Nets big Nic Claxton, a play which blew the roof off the Moda Center.

Current starters underperforming

As he didn’t play until the 9th game of the year, Nassir Little was clearly being held back for development purposes. Due to Zach Collins being sidelined for at least 4 months, the Blazers have been rotating Mario Hezonja and Anthony Tolliver in and out of the starting line up. Despite a few flashes, it hasn’t been pretty.

Tolliver and Hezonja have struggled defensively and offered little on the offensive end. Hezonja, granted, as performed better than Tolliver, and delivered a couple of nice performances, but it  hasn’t been good enough, and definitely not good enough to shut the door on Nassir Little. Hezonja is currently averaging five points per game, and is shooting 33 percent from three. In recent games, he has taken a lot of bad shots, and seems to be in a slump.

Tolliver stats meanwhile, are even worse, the forward is averaging three points per game, with a field goal and three-point percentage of just 25 percent. Tolliver’s slump is more alarming, as the veteran’s career numbers are much better than this. He has built a career out of the modern ‘3&D’ player type, and has shot the three at 37 percent, with a 41 percent field goal percentage.

The two forwards have been underwhelming, and have done nothing to omit Little from getting a chance. The Blazers have had problems at the wing positions for years, and a pairing of Tolliver and Hezonja is the not the answer.

Skill level raw, athletically ready

His sample size may be small in the NBA, but we can draw confidence from both Little’s summer league showings and college reputation, he seems ready to take on a role in the NBA. Whilst his jump-shot still looks raw, his athleticism does not, and the rookie also has the build and body of an NBA ready player. As all rookies experience, Little will most likely struggle when he’s not holding the ball, and will need to figure out his role on this Blazers outfit.

His 18 minutes reminded me a little of Al-Farouq Aminu, except with way more athletic ability, with an offensive game to go with it. Terry Stotts seemed impressed with the rookie’s performance, and mentioned the ‘spark’ Little created.

"“He had a lot of energy. I thought he made some momentum plays. I liked his athleticism, his dunks, he got the crowd into the game, got our bench into it. Down the stretch, he made some defensive mistakes which is tough for rookies out there, but for him to get his first real opportunity in an NBA game, I thought he really provided a spark.”"

Portland’s options are limited, and Nassir Little is not a bad wildcard to have. He was described by many as ‘the steal of the draft’- there was initial surprise around the league that Little had dropped to 25. With other players continuing to struggle, I believe the Blazers should take a chance on the rookie, and hand him a bigger role from here on out.