Dame Came Home, And Ja Has To Learn A Whole New Kind Of Basketball

Dame hitting a three on his first shot back in Portland after the Achilles injury is one of those things where the moment almost writes itself. He finishes with 15 points, three threes and 19 minutes, the Blazers win 123-118, and the crowd gets to see somebody who means something to that city wearing their jersey again. Then look right next to him and there's Ja Morant, who just got there and is figuring out how not to be the whole fucking offense by himself. Ja had eight points, five assists and four turnovers in 19 minutes. That's not some disaster; that's a guy who spent years being the first option trying to work out what he should do beside Dame, Deni Avdija and everybody else. Deni led Portland with 23, while Robert Williams III had five blocks in just 14 minutes. On the other side Golden State rested Steph and Draymond, and Miles Kelly still gave them 24. So I'm not treating that five-point win like Portland just beat the full Warriors rotation.

But this is where I start looking ahead. Portland had 22 turnovers and gave Golden State 23 points off them, so that new pace can't just be 'run fast and hope shit works.' Ja even talked afterward about being too passive. That makes sense to me: there's a difference between sharing the ball and disappearing from the offense because you're trying so hard not to step on somebody else's toes. On FanDuel, I wouldn't touch a Ja scoring over yet just because of his name. I want to see his shot attempts rise without his assists collapsing, whether Dame's minutes grow normally, and if Deni still gets the same touches once everybody's settled. Robert Williams is interesting for defensive props too, but five blocks in 14 minutes isn't an everyday forecast. This group might be fun as hell if the chemistry comes, but right now what we have is a really good story and a bunch of questions worth tracking, not a finished product.

Sharing the keys ain't the same as forgetting how to drive.6IX / WHAT I'M WATCHING