The Developmental Cost of Nassir Little's Knee Sprain
Nassir Little finally got his chance, and more than made the most of it.
With the Trail Blazers increasingly ravaged by injuries midway through a six-game road trip, Terry Stotts gave the sophomore forward a second consecutive start against the Milwaukee Bucks. More importantly, Little was afforded a far longer leash than he'd enjoyed at any point since high school. Little, remember, was a projected high-lottery pick before a disappointing freshman campaign at North Carolina pushed him to the bottom of the first round of the 2019 draft.
Little's rookie season made his recent past as a blue-chip recruit and prospective top-five pick easy to dismiss. There just isn't a place in the modern game for forwards who can't shoot or make plays for others if they aren't difference-making defenders, and Little is years of understanding way from earning that distinction.
Those glaring deficiencies were nowhere to be found against Milwaukee, though, as an aggressive Little seized his opportunity with what has to be the best game of his life. It's not every day you drop 30 points, drain five threes and shoot 61.1 percent from the floor while occasionally guarding the two-time reigning MVP.
Portland was "run out the gym" by Milwaukee, as Damian Lillard described it afterward, and Little and his teammates did little to slow Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Bucks superstar had 18 points, four rebounds and six assists on 8-of-11 shooting in just 26 minutes, then watched the fourth quarter from the bench.
But Little still managed to flash his rare blend of strength, length and overall athleticism defensively when matched up Antetokounmpo.
Asked during postgame media availability if his standout performance might serve as a career "breakthrough", Little unintentionally laid bare just how debilitating his current knee injury could be for his development.
"In regards to a breakout, I mean I definitely think this is a reminder to myself and everybody else that I'm a good player."
Anyone who's casually followed Little's game since his prep days knows just how big a factor self-doubt has played in his underwhelming turns with the Tar Heels and Trail Blazers to date. Not only did his burst of activity, physicality and three-point shooting against Milwaukee give Stotts better reason than ever to find Little a larger role from there, but so did Portland's spate of injuries to key contributors.
Fast forward just over a week and Little hasn't taken the floor since, sidelined by a left knee sprain that will also keep him out of Tuesday's matchup with the Orlando Magic.
Can Little maintain that sense of newfound self-confidence until he's healthy enough to play? The Blazers' locker-room culture should certainly help in that regard. But maybe the better question worth asking is whether Stotts will help jumpstart Little's growth by giving him a spot in the rotation when available.
Unfortunately, promises made to more experienced forwards on the roster mean that's highly unlikely–and that the developmental ripples of Little's knee sprain will linger even once he's healed.