10-03-2026, 10:46 AM
(This post was last modified: 10-03-2026, 10:48 AM by HoosierDaddyKid.)
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. But in a league with huge egos, asking an All-Star to come off the bench is a delicate and difficult task for any coach, let alone Nori, a first-year coach operating on a one-year contract. Nori told The Athletic that his contract status will have no bearing on his decision. Instead, he will experiment with different lineups throughout the Blazers’ four preseason games. The exhibition opener is Wednesday against the Golden State Warriors, and Nori said he “probably” will start Morant and Lillard. “It’s not set in stone, but probably, because I’m leaning toward wanting to see what it looks like,” Nori said. “And … I don’t want to start a fire before I need to.” “If Damian Lillard is healthy,” Nori said shortly after he was hired, “then Damian Lillard is going to start.” Morant on media day was asked whether starting mattered to him. “I think winning is the most important thing for me, so whatever role I have to play to get that done, I think nobody will be mad afterward,” Morant said. “If I’m starting, if I’m not, it’s the same thing. I mean, it’s day one right now. “I feel that’s a coach’s question. But for me, I have no problem with either.”
New York Times
New York Times