The Portland Trail Blazers have enjoyed a fantastic 6-2 start to the new season, and although Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers showed them there are levels to this game on Friday night as they got the better of them, this still looks like the team most likely to cause a surprise first-round playoff upset in 2027.
Trail Blazers have roster peaking at perfect time under Micah Nori
Injury to Vit Krejci was not ideal and does weaken Head Coach Micah Nori's 10-man rotation, but there are still a ton of reasons for optimism here. Despite having a plethora of floor generals (even with Ja Morant currently sidelined with a hamstring issue), the Trail Blazers have returned Deni Avdija to his point-forward role that brought such success in the past. He is thriving, and will be named an All-Star again this season.
Like a more well-balanced version of Domantas Sabonis with a better offensive game, Avdija is the engine that makes everything else go. Damian Lillard is back in Portland and looks settled, while Jrue Holiday is quietly building a Sixth Man of the Year case and is their most important contributor off the bench.
So good is Holiday at reading the game defensively that he is able to make up for some of what the team lost when Krejci went down, despite being a point guard. Coach Nori looks to have been the right addition at the perfect time for this group, and right now the Trail Blazers boast the second-best offensive rating (120 points scored each night) and sit just outside the top-10 defensively (111.4).
The balance of the roster and having the right guy leading from the sidelines, combined with everybody understanding this is Avdija's team, is the reason they will be a nightmare for an opponent such as the Houston Rockets or even the San Antonio Spurs. They have parallels to last season's Phoenix Suns team, who were fun, feisty and built on caring about every single possession. Only they already look like they can go one better and make some postseason noise.
Trail Blazers will have opportunity to peak at perfect time
You can't win a championship or even a playoff series in November, but you can certainly lose it. For the Trail Blazers to be winning games despite early injury setbacks is hugely impressive, and already they look like one of the best teams in the league for knowing their identity and understanding their strengths and weaknesses.
If they can continue quietly amassing wins and really turning it on after the All-Star break, they will arrive at the playoffs ready to make some noise and carry that momentum into next season.
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