Don't sleep on the this year's Portland Trail Blazers, who handed Draymond Green and the Golden State Warriors their first lost of the regular season. They also hold the fourth-best record (4-2) in the Western Conference, as the up-and-coming squad are making strides. Blazers' Shaedon Sharpe could have a breakout season and the same could be said about Portland's leading scorer Deni Avdija, who's leading the team with 22.7 points per game.
Green talked about the Trail Blazers' impressive start, including beating the Warriors, and why he's believes the young team will be much better than many expected heading into the 2025-26 season, per The Draymond Green Show.
“Portland is a tough, tough game. They’ve got a bunch of length, switchable guys. Defensively they are all 6’7, 6’8 can move their feet. Can guard positions one through five,” Green said. “Jrue Holiday’s leadership is proven to be invaluable for this team. They’ve got centers, they’ve wings. They’ve got young scoring wings that can go get it. They’ve got defenders, they’ve got a true point guard in Jrue Holiday.
“That team is the young team that I think a lot of people aren’t looking out for that I think is going to have a good year.”
The Blazers beat the Denver Nuggets 109-107 in an NBA Cup game for their fourth win in six tries. Avdija's 23 points on 7-of-13 attempts, led six players in double figures, including Sharpe's 19 points, and Jerami Gran's 16 points, which led the bench.
Adding veteran Jrue Holiday has undoubtedly bolstered the Blazers' defense in the backcourt, while second-year center Donovan Clingan is off to a stellar start up front. It's the kind of combination of veteran and young skills that could make for a competitive season, according to Warriors veteran Draymond Green.
Toumani Camara's defense led to a four-year extension, worth $82 million. He's one of Portland's defenders who can guard positions one through five, while averaging 11.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.3 steals per game.
Trail Blazers emerges as a top-5 NBA defense
Two weeks into the 2025-26 regular season and the Trail Blazers have the fifth-best defensive rating (110.1) in the NBA, trailing the defending champion Thunder (104.2), the Spurs (108.2), the Heat (108.9), and the Nuggets. It's still too early to determine if this Blazers defense is sustainable throughout the regular season.
However, the young talent sprouting throughout the roster should make for a fruitful season as the rebuilding team looks to continue making a significant stride in a competitive Western Conference.
