One Underrated Blazers Player Who Could Change Everything This Season

The Portland Trail Blazers might have a solution for one of their biggest problems that plagued them last season.

Micah Nori answers questions from the press conference at the Trail Blazers Practice Facility. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Depth is king in the NBA, and though the league likely boasts the most talent it ever has, plenty of playoff hopefuls and championship fantasts often have their delusions shattered due to a lack of it.

A shallow team may have a high floor, but their ceiling is almost always low. Entering training camp, the Portland Trail Blazers appear to fit this bill. Lack of talent is not the problem — the Blazers have plenty — but rather the shortage of varied talent, namely in the backcourt. 

Possessing a glut of guards, all of them are quite undersized. Jrue Holiday has fantastic length for a point guard, not so much for a shooting guard, which is where he will spend most of his time attempting to compensate for the defensive deficiencies of Damian Lillard, Ja Morant and Scoot Henderson. Shaedon Sharpe's injury last month, though he isn’t a great defender, means even less reach on the perimeter.

And then there’s the outside shooting. Lillard is Lillard and Holiday is a marksman himself, but outside of the two, specifically in the backcourt, there is a lot to be desired. They cannot shoot every trey, and the Blazers love to let it fly, even if they are dreadful at it.

How Blazers Can Fix 3-Point Problems

Vít Krejci reacts during warm ups before the Trail Blazers play against the Brooklyn Nets. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Last year Portland finished third in the NBA in 3-point attempts per game (42.2) while sitting 28th in 3-point percentage (34.3). If they repeat that shot diet, Morant and Henderson cannot be expected to help change the outcome.

Enter Vit Krejci.

Addressing the obvious, yes, Krejci was pretty awful in his 19 regular season games for the Blazers after he was traded from Atlanta for Duop Reath and two second round draft picks, shooting a 30.3 percent clip from beyond the arc. 

Dealing with a left calf contusion that sidelined him for 13 consecutive games late in the season, Krejci ultimately fell out of Portland’s rotation completely in the postseason, never really regaining the rhythm he had with the Hawks where he shot 42.3 percent from deep across 22.3 minutes per game.

That stretch should almost certainly prove to be an outlier, and Portland desperately needs it to be so. It’s the reason the Blazers traded for him after all. A rejuvenated Krejci could help jump Portland into at least the upper half of the league’s three-point shooting teams, and his 6-foot-8 frame provides some needed stature outside.

The type of threes he shoots is crucial as well. Lillard and Holiday are clearly adept at hitting off the dribble — Krejci, meanwhile, should become a staple in the corner, eating off feeds from an attacking Morant, Henderson and Deni Avdija. The Blazers shot a dismal 33.8 percent on corner 3-pointers last year, while Krejci hit 39.7 percent of his corner threes with Atlanta, coupled with an overall 44.3 percent clip on catch and shoot threes.

A decent amount of those catch-and-shoot bombs came from above the break, another area Portland struggled mightily in. Krejci shot 43.1 percent above the break in Atlanta, compared to Portland’s 34.4 percent.

With the Blazers defense likely to regress this year, the drop has to be offset by a boost in their offense. Krejci can play a sizable role in achieving that, especially if he can return to the likes of his 2024-25 campaign, where he was fifth in the league in 3-point percentage (43.7).