Early signs are promising as far as the Ja Morant trade working out for the Portland Trail Blazers. He started for Micah Nori in the backcourt alongside Damian Lillard, which proved to be far too much firepower against the Phoenix Suns in the season opener.
It was a 124-83 blowout that essentially seemed to be over after the first quarter, when Portland took a commanding 43-12 lead feeding off the energy of this home crowd. This team was playing with far more energy compared to last year, and you could sense it was overwhelming Phoenix from the jump. That's a testament to Morant, one of the most energetic players in the league, with his combination of motor, speed, and athleticism.
Grading Ja Morant's Trail Blazers debut
Portland's new guard finished with 14 points (6-of-8 FG, 2-of-3 3PT), 8 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 turnover in just 23 minutes.
The scoring volume could've been higher, but Portland didn't need Morant to be overly aggressive, as whatever formula they had in place was clearly working. He was a team-high +33 in those 23 minutes.
Morant shot an inefficient 41 percent from the field last season with the Memphis Grizzlies. Some of that was likely due to injury, considering he played just 20 games. However, he should benefit from a change of scenery in that regard, as Morant should have easier looks with teams now having to account for all of Morant, Lillard, and Deni Avdija.
The Blazers scored roughly 164 points per 100 possessions with Morant on the floor. He gave this team the offensive boost and secondary playmaking they lacked behind Avdija last season.
Defensively, positional size remains a concern, especially sharing the backcourt with Lillard. He still seems underrated, however, as an overall defender, with the three steals highlighting his quick hands and ability to anticipate plays.
Morant wasn't the two-time All-Star he looked in Memphis, preventing an A+ grade given the relatively low scoring. But I'm not sure the Blazers want Morant to be playing at an A+ if that's the grading criteria.
As Wednesday's blowout over the Suns showed, this team is far more dangerous when Morant, Lillard, and Avdija are all sharing the ball and exploiting mismatches. The Suns would stop one drive only for the Blazers to kick it out to someone else able to eventually get by, forcing Phoenix's defense to scramble more often than not.
This new, diminished role Morant has embraced in Portland should help raise their ceiling from last year's first-round playoff exit. It's hard to ask for a much better start.
Grade: A
Add us as a preferred source on Google