Jrue Holiday hurt his hand guarding Sacramento. An X-ray found "nothing was broke"; swelling kept him out of Portland's final exhibition. Micah Nori thinks he'll be good for the Phoenix opener. Robert Williams III sat too. Nori: "We really missed them, which is no excuse."
With Scoot Henderson's contract decision near, Jrue Holiday says Portland put a lot in his hands: "him making the decision... he's shown out all training camp." Holiday leans on him but won't offer contract advice unasked: "Scoot knows that he can control what he can control."
Jrue Holiday backs Micah Nori's plan to play 10 or 11 deep in shorter stints for Portland: "We have depth, and I think that's something that we should use if we have it. Because we have it." He called last year's defensive rebounding "terrible," a topic raised "every day."
Asked if he was limping, the Kings' Emanuel Sharp shrugged off the knocks: "So it ain't nothing new. ... But I'm good." Nor is he fazed by Damian Lillard, Ja Morant or Jrue Holiday: "I'm not looking at these guys intimidated or anything." He credits Doug Christie for that.
Donovan Clingan and Robert Williams III anchor Portland's defensive plan: Jrue Holiday says the perimeter defenders contain and the two centers protect behind. On offense, he expects attention on Damian Lillard, Ja Morant and Deni Avdija to open shots for him and Williams.
"There isn't much to teach Scoot. Just gotta give him some playing time." Jrue Holiday says his media-day take on Scoot Henderson's defense was no joke: he can guard four positions. Portland will press full court at times with Henderson, Holiday and Toumani Camara.
Splitter sees closing lineups as situational: "super small" or bigger, with Jrue Holiday on the floor and Deni Avdija handling the ball. He'll mix lineups across the four preseason games and sees Branden Carlson and Micah Potter as backups at power forward and center.
From Portland's media availability: Ja Morant says playing with Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday and Scoot Henderson means he needn't be ball dominant, opening catch-and-shoot 3s and cuts. Donovan Clingan on 3-pointers: "if I'm open and I like the shot, I'm gonna shoot it."