At the start of the Blazers’ “training camp” at the end of September, Nassir Little said he was ready to accept the results when he spoke of the internal competition for the position of starting winger.
A few days later, the expected verdict fell: it was Josh Hart who was chosen by Chauncey Billups to start in the five major, on position 3.
Expected, for two reasons. The first being the momentum by Josh Hart, author of a very good second half of the 2021/22 season in Oregon, and therefore quite logically the favorite at the start of the camp. The second being the not ideal physical condition of Nassir Little, operated on twice in the last eight months.
As a reminder, the former North Carolina player was forced to end his 2021/22 season early in January due to a torn labrum in his left shoulder that required surgery. Then, he then went on the pool table a second time, in May, this time to repair an abdominal tear.
In short, while Josh Hart was gaining momentum, Nassir Little was sidelined and lost all the momentum positive accumulated before (13.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 40.3% behind the arc in January).
A delay to catch up, but not in a rush
Unsurprisingly, the 22-year-old winger, who was only able to take part in the five-on-five drills just days before the Blazers’ first preseason game, was therefore still feeling the effects of such a long absence.
” I’m going to need some time to find the rhythm, to be relaxed and comfortable on the pitch again. This is my main objective, personally, after two operations. he conceded.
Rusty, Nassir Little logically signed a chaotic debut in the preseason, with 8 points at 2/10 on cumulative shots against the Clippers and the Jazz. Before raising the bar against the modest Maccabi Ra’Anana, with an exit to 11 points at 5/7 on shots, then against the Warriors last night, with 9 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists.
” I just had to see one or two shots fall into it. So I hope I will continue this momentum, game after game. […] I’m not looking to ramp up all at once, because it won’t be viable in the long term. I want to gradually regain my feelings. » so he concluded.
| Nassir Little | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2019-20 | ORP | 48 | 12 | 43.0 | 23.7 | 63.6 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 3.6 |
| 2020-21 | ORP | 48 | 13 | 46.7 | 35.0 | 80.0 | 0.7 | 2.0 | 2.7 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 4.6 |
| 2021-22 | ORP | 42 | 26 | 46.0 | 33.1 | 73.4 | 1.4 | 4.2 | 5.6 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 9.8 |
| Total | 138 | 17 | 45.5 | 31.7 | 72.7 | 0.9 | 2.5 | 3.4 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 5.8 | |
