The Portland Trail Blazers finished the first quarter of their season opener against the Phoenix Suns up 43-12. The game almost seemed over after 12 minutes, which shows how upgraded this roster is compared to the last time they faced the Suns in last year's Play-In Tournament.
That was immediately apparent with Damian Lillard's first quarter in which he recorded 12 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists in 9 minutes. Lillard shot 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, contributing to the Blazers' red-hot shooting first quarter of 50 percent (8-of-16) from beyond the arc.
Damian Lillard gives Blazers massive offensive upgrade from last season
You could already feel the offensive upgrade from last year's Blazers roster that struggled to generate offense consistently outside of Deni Avdija. The floor spacing came much easier thanks to Lillard. That not only opened up the lanes for Avdija but also Morant, who had six points, three rebounds, and three assists in a productive first quarter of his own.
That quickly validated Micah Nori's decision to start both Morant and Lillard together. It remained to be seen whether that would be the case due to conflicting reports leading up to Portland's season opener. But the playmaking and shooting woes that plagued the Blazers offense last season quickly disappeared with Morant and Lillard in the backcourt.
It was essentially Morant, Lillard, and Avdija initiating the offense in the starting unit, with Donovan Clingan and Toumani Camara embracing those defensive-minded roles. That formula of players buying into more one-dimensional roles clearly worked early on.
The Suns became much more defense-minded last season following their blockbuster trade that sent Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets. They had absolutely no answer to contain both Avdija and Morant's downhill game with Lillard out there spacing the floor.
Some wondered whether Avdija and Morant's downhill style of play would get in the way of one another, potentially making Morant's ideal role as a sixth man off the bench.
However, it turned out to be another dimension in Portland's offense making it that much more difficult for Phoenix to have that matchup advantage at every position.
Should an offensive possession stall with a Suns defender momentarily standing in the way of Morant, Avdija, or Lillard, they'd simply kick it out to the other to see if they had the advantage. That ultimately led to the defense being forced to collapse more often than not.
The Morant trade already looks like a decision that's paying off for GM Joe Cronin and the Blazers in that regard. But it's still the floor spacing and secondary playmaking Lillard provides that makes the entire formula work in Portland.
That proved to be the case in preseason, but it took just one quarter for that to translate to their regular season matchup against Phoenix. Should Lillard keep this productivity level up throughout the course of the season, it's going to make Portland's offense far more dangerous than last year's 42-win team.
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