Portland Trail Blazers head coach Micah Nori still has a starting lineup problem to sort out before the fast-approaching 2026-27 season. Portland's season opener comes in a home matchup against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, October 21.
Training camp and preseason will give Nori an opportunity to experiment with multiple starting lineup combinations. He could even potentially rotate the different starting lineups throughout preseason, taking a similar approach as Chauncey Billups has done in the past.
But this problem with Nori seems even more magnified because of the star power that he ultimately has to demote to a bench role. In all likelihood, it will be one of Damian Lillard, Ja Morant, or Jrue Holiday -- a trio with a combined 13 All-Star appearances.
Ever since the surprising Morant deal, the general expectation was the former Memphis Grizzlies star would now be starting alongside Lillard in the backcourt. Lillard even recently said at the first day of training camp that would be the case, as far as he knew.
Micah Nori is wise to question a Ja Morant-Damian Lillard backcourt
However, according to Jason Quick of The Athletic, that decision has not officially been made, with Nori himself questioning the poor fit.
"Nori said that starting Morant and Lillard doesn't make sense. Both are undersized, and both have never excelled on the defensive end. The more analytically sound option would be to start Holiday — a bigger guard who is an exceptional defender — and have either Morant or Lillard come off the bench."
As Quick notes, there are plenty of other variables to factor into the decision. Nori is a first-year head coach who's guaranteed just one year of his three-year deal. There's also Morant's polarizing reputation and how he'll respond to a potential demotion after years of being the guy in Memphis.
Ultimately, Nori's right: something has to give in this project starting backcourt. Between the two, it's Lillard who's a far cleaner fit in this starting unit compared to Morant.
Micah Nori needs to bring Ja Morant off the bench
Defensive concerns are relatively similar for two undersized guards, but Portland at least has the defensive infrastructure in place to cover for one on the court. To start both would be sacrificing their defensive identity too much.
But it's offensively where Lillard gets the nod compared to Morant, at least in terms of fit with the Blazers' young core.
The priority needs to be surrounding Deni Avdija with complementary pieces after his All-Star breakout. Avdija led the league in drives per game. With that being the case, would you rather have recent 3-Point Contest champion Damian Lillard or the floor-shrinking Morant, who has a redundant downhill game?
Despite Morant's poor fit with this starting group, we still like the value of the trade in a vacuum for Portland. He can still provide value in that second unit, replacing Avdija's downhill attack, or giving them another ball-handler and playmaker to spell Lillard.
Morant is a risky asset to take on because if things go wrong, he can wind up hindering the growth of this existing group coming off its first collective playoff appearance. At Media Day, he did sound willing to embrace a sixth-man role as long as it was for the betterment of the team.
Winning is the best way to manage all these star egos, and it also helps that Portland seems to have unselfish ones. Nori needs to hold Morant to that, because it gives them the best chance to win this season.
Fortunately, with Quick's latest report, it sounds like Nori is already well aware of the challenges a Lillard-Morant starting backcourt would present.
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