Morant Debuts Alongside Lillard for Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers opened the preseason with Ja Morant making his debut alongside Damian Lillard, who returned from an Achilles injury, as the team experiments with the backcourt pairing. Morant had eight points and five assists in 19 minutes against Golden State, showing flashes of his attacking ability while also committing turnovers. Coach Micah Nori attributed some early mistakes to rust and timing after Morant played only 20 games last season, and the coaching staff plans to keep testing the starting lineup. Lillard said Morant appears happy and engaged in Portland. The Blazers hope Morant and Lillard can help build on the team’s playoff appearance last season.