Portland

Trail Blazers

Lillard ruptured his Achilles tendon during last season’s playoffs, missing the entire 2025-26 campaign as a result. The veteran guard, who turns 36 in July, appears to be on track to return to action next season, as he has resumed playing 5-on-5. Lillard also noted on Thursday that, while nothing was ever said about him possibly playing this season, he did think about the possibility. With Lillard back in the fold, the Trail Blazers should be in a position to take a step forward after earning the No. 7 seed in this year’s playoffs.

Avdija enjoyed a breakout season, which led to his first All-Star appearance. He also guided the Blazers back to the playoffs for the first time since 2021, though that season has now come to a close. He was red-hot entering the playoffs, but the top-tier Spurs defense made things difficult for him, which limited his production. Avdija was selected in the fifth round in Yahoo! leagues, but it will likely take an earlier selection to nab him in fantasy drafts next season.

It has been a few seasons since Williams was playing a full-time role, but he is a player that can make a massive impact in limited minutes. That was on full display in this series, and while it wasn’t enough for the Trail Blazers to pull the upset, he is clearly still a valuable player. He’s set to be a free agent this summer, which will be a complex situation, given his injury history. Wherever he ends up, he’ll likely make a big impact on a value contract.

Henderson’s first playoff appearance had some good moments but ended on a sour note. Through the first three games, he averaged 23.3 points and 4.0 triples, which had many people thinking he was finally showing some of the potential that made him the No. 3 pick in 2023. However, he was held scoreless in Game 4, and while he was able to get some points on the board in this one, he was benched for the end of the game and limited to 17 minutes. Henderson is still only 22 years old and has plenty of time to figure things out, but he’s going to have to make a major leap heading into next season to convince the Blazers he’s still an important part of their future.

After totaling 23 points in the first three games of this series, Grant had his most productive outing in Game 4. Shooting 50 percent from the field, the veteran forward recorded a complete stat line in 33 minutes. With Scoot Henderson (two assists and one steal) missing all seven of his shot attempts, Grant’s playing time jumped considerably, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Trail Blazers from being outscored 73-35 in the second half. Game 5 is on Tuesday, with the Trail Blazers one loss away from elimination.

Eleven of Portland’s 18 turnovers in Game 4 were committed by two players. Holiday racked up six, while Deni Avdija was responsible for five. Holiday was solid as a scorer, shooting 3-of-6 from beyond the arc, but the mistakes were too much to overcome as the Spurs turned up the dial defensively in the second half. Holiday has scored at least 20 points in consecutive games, but he’ll need to be more efficient as a playmaker if the Trail Blazers are to force a Game 6.

Avdija had a good afternoon scoring-wise, but turnovers were once again an issue for him and the Trail Blazers. He was responsible for five turnovers, and the Trail Blazers recorded 18 as a team. Portland was one of the worst teams in the NBA during the regular season in terms of turnover percentage, and the margin for error gets slimmer in the postseason. If Avdija and the Trail Blazers are to force a Game 6, they need to clean up the mistakes.

Holiday scored 25 points combined in the first two games of this series and then exploded for 29 points in Game 3. Despite the admirable effort from the 35-year-old point guard, it wasn’t enough as Portland dropped Game 3 at home by 12 points. Holiday and the Trail Blazers will try to even the series in Game 4 on Sunday.

Williams played 23 minutes off the bench in the victory and had 11 points and nine rebounds. The 28-year-old center also had a put-back dunk and got fouled with 15 seconds left in regulation to put the Trail Blazers up by three. He’ll continue to have a significant bench role in this series.

Henderson found his rhythm with a 15-point second half in Sunday’s Game 1 loss to the Spurs and it carried over to Game 2 as he posted 31 points in the win. The 22-year-old guard’s three-point shooting was a major factor in this one as he was 5-of-9 from behind the arc. The series shifts to Portland for Game 3 on Friday.