Portland Is 3–0. The Real Story Isn't the Score—It's Where Ja Morant Fits.

Portland went into Sacramento and beat the Kings 110–98 Tuesday night to improve to 3–0 in preseason. On paper that looks simple. But the more interesting part is how all these ballhandlers are going to work together once the games start counting.

Deni Avdija was the best scorer on the floor with 26 points on 9-for-13 shooting. Damian Lillard added 14 points and four assists. Ja Morant came off the bench for 14 points, six assists, and no turnovers. And Scoot Henderson started alongside Lillard.

A three-headed point guard situation? Maybe.

Portland's offense looked comfortable when Lillard and Avdija shared the job of bringing the ball up, according to Blazer's Edge. Henderson was aggressive moving off the ball and attacking the lane. Morant looked most dangerous when he could control the dribble rather than sit and wait.

That's my question for coach Micah Nori: are you assembling several talented guards who make one another better, or are you creating a nightly argument about whose turn it is? On this night, the offense kept moving. Sacramento's defense wasn't a full-strength test, though.

The numbers tell a mixed story

Portland led 66–39 at halftime and was up 93–66 through three quarters, then got outscored 32–17 in the fourth with the benches playing. The Kings were missing several important contributors, and they remained winless in preseason at 0–4.

And the Blazers shot 11-for-44 from three. That's 25%. It didn't hurt them much against this version of Sacramento, but you can't build a serious offense around taking 44 threes and making eleven. The ball movement deserves credit. The shot selection still needs work.

My take

I like what Deni is becoming as a scorer who can also start offense. I like seeing Damian back. And I like Ja doing the difficult adjustment of contributing without monopolizing every possession.

But I'm not crowning them preseason champions and pretending the Kings ran a normal lineup. Show me that same cohesion when the opponent isn't leaving half its roster in street clothes.

Portland has talent everywhere. The challenge is getting them to stop playing like five separate highlights and start playing like one team.6ix / 6ixtv