Sidy Cissoko Has Found His Role in the Blazers Rotation

The Portland Trail Blazers have a player willing to do the dirty work.

Portland Trail Blazers guard Sidy Cissoko reacts after a play against the San Antonio Spurs in the first half at Moda Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Sidy Cissoko needed less than three minutes to change the energy of the Portland Trail Blazers' preseason opener against the Golden State Warriors.

The depleted Golden State squad came out of the halftime intermission blistering, scoring 21 points in the first five minutes. Micah Nori and his coaching staff looked to their second unit to stop the flood of Warriors points, and led by Cissoko, the Blazers did more than stop it; they went on a run of their own.

An offensive foul drawn.

Forcing a five-second violation.

A block that turns into a jump ball.

A steal that leads to a layup and a timeout.

Coach Nori would be happy if his team did that in an entire half of basketball, but those weren’t the plays of an entire team nor an entire half. Those plays were all attributed to Cissoko.

Portland outscored Golden State 13-3 from his introduction until that timeout—a total of 2 minutes and 57 seconds between the two.

That's the importance of Cissoko’s role off the bench. He’s not expected to light it up from beyond the arc or playmake for others. Those can be huge pluses, but for the Blazers success, energy and hustle will remain his calling card in the rotation.

Sidy Cissoko is the Ultimate Glue Guy

Portland Trail Blazers guard Jrue Holiday talks with Sidy Cissoko during the first half against the Memphis Grizzlies at Moda Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Many questions have circulated at training camp about Portland's starting lineup for this season.

Heading into the preseason games against the Warriors, London Lions, and Sacramento Kings, Nori told the media he expects to tinker with different lineup combinations, particularly in the backcourt.

Less can be said about the forward positions. With Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara locked into their starting roles, the fanbase has worried about the depth and quality at those positions.

Despite the lack of his experience, Blazers’ own All-Defensive guard Jrue Holiday, believes Cissoko has found his role and is flourishing.

“Sidy’s a crashout, he’s gonna play hard and give you energy,” Holiday said after a training camp practice. “You always know when he’s on the court because he impacts the game when he’s on the floor.”

The 22-year-old from France still needs to round out the offensive side of his game. Cissoko won’t always shoot 100 percent from the field as he did on Monday against the Lions. That’s a given.

But with so many crafty offensive engines on the roster, Coach Nori appreciates having someone who can do the dirty work.

“The rebounding, the screening and doing things without the ball,” Nori said about Cissoko. “He’ll find himself with plenty of opportunity this season.”

Every playoff team needs a selfless player willing to do the things that won’t show up on a stat sheet. The Blazers have been lucky to have Camara, who already does those things well, and now another French-speaking European, Cissoko, is ready to contribute the same way.