Portland Trail Blazers forward Nassir Little was coming off a difficult year, battling various injuries and Covid-19. With a breakout performance against the Bucks, Little finally got to put his much improved and more polished game on full display, and he has not looked back since. With Rodney Hood and Gary Trent Jr. being moved for Norman Powell, Little should see an uptick in minutes. We speak to his personal trainer Darryl Hardin about his offseason.
Opportunity
The Blazers found themselves in a tough spot just over 2 months ago: Jusuf Nurkic and C.J. McCollum got injured in back-to-back games for an extended period of time. It meant that the Blazers had to count on some young guys to carry a chunk of the workload. Gary Trent Jr. did an excellent job filling in at the starting shooting guard position before being traded and Anfernee Simons also took advantage of his extended playing time off the bench.
Next up was Nassir Little. The second year forward out of UNC was plugged into the starting lineup on January 30th, when Derrick Jones Jr. was ruled out. In his first start against the Bulls, he played 14 minutes and made 1 three-pointer and 2 free-throws, not missing a shot. He also grabbed 3 rebounds, 2 of which offensive, had a steal and finished the game with a +- of 6 as the Blazers won by one behind Damian Lillard’s late game heroics.
The next game is where Little really broke out. He was the only bright spark in a blowout loss to the Bucks, who boasted the best offensive team against a very shaky Portland defense. Nas finished with 30 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks and a steal in just shy of 30 minutes. He went 11/18 from the field, drained 5 of his 7 shots from deep and made all 3 of his free throws.
Offseason work
That breakout game had been a long time coming. Nassir was a top prospect in high school in a loaded class. Along with LeBron James, he’s the only player to ever win MVP of both the McDonald’s All-American game and the Jordan Brand Classic. But at the collegiate level, Little got limited minutes on a UNC team that values seniors.
It caused him to slide in the draft, way beyond what was expected. The Blazers, who had the 24th pick and were desperately looking for athletic wing players, saw it as a gift and drafted him, much to the excitement of the fans.
However, it was a tough situation last year in Portland for any rookie to be in. The Blazers were dealing with some major injuries in the frontcourt, so Nassir was thrown into the rotation. But with the team in the chase for a playoff spot, the margin for error was extremely small, especially for a one-and-done rookie.
Thus, when the pandemic hit, Little went right back to work with his trainer Darryl Hardin, who has been coaching him since 9th grade. “That first year he brought energy to the team and got them extra possessions. The biggest focus [in the offseason] was where [Nassir] was going to get his shots, along with being a defender they could call on. [That] and being ready and consistent with his approach.”
His defense is something the Blazers could have used in the bubble and still could use going forward. He has shown flashes of being a good defender, and that’s going to be big if he wants to get consistent minutes on a team that is 29th defensively. “[Getting minutes] starts with defense because he’s more than capable. Hitting open shots also helps. Before Covid shut the season down, his shot was trending in the right direction.”
But when the season started back up in Orlando, Nassir had a concussion and then suffered from dehydration, which caused him to faint during a team practice. He didn’t play in the bubble, but he was eager to show off his improved game. “He was ready for whatever was presented to him. He had put in great work leading up to the bubble.”
Hardin stated that Nassir didn’t feel some type of way about his limited playing time during his first year in Portland or even at UNC. “He has always been a worker. That is his formal. If he played every minute at Carolina, he would have still gotten in the gym every morning and worked on his game and body. His motivation is being the best version of himself. [He was the same Nassir], just sharper on the details and locked in anxious to play again because of the injury in the bubble.”
Tough start
During the first couple of days of preseason, Little tested positive for Covid-19. He wasn’t lucky enough to be asymptomatic. He went through constant pain. From the first day he tested positive on December 1st until his first negative on the 22nd, he had lost 20 pounds.
It wasn’t until January 7th that Little stepped foot on an NBA court again. When he did, in a blowout win against the Wolves, he immediately showed off his improved and smoother shot with a nice step-back jumper. Since then, the almost 21-year-old had been waiting on a first real opportunity, not ‘garbage-time’ minutes. He got it, he grabbed it, and now looks set for a major breakout season, but his coach realizes he has to continue to work hard.
“It’s always your work. The best are still working hard at their games. We trained daily after his sophomore year of high school. The tools were always there, it’s working to put them together and working to be consistent.”
The work has paid off, at least in the sense that the Blazers trusted Little enough to trade Rodney Hood, who was splitting the minutes with Little at the backup 3. In the 26 games Since the game against Chicago, Little’s averaging 6.7 PPG on 50.4% shooting, 39.1% from deep and 87.5% from the line, in only 16 minutes per game. However, he has been getting more minutes as of late.
However, more work is still to be done. Nassir is young and has star potential. From his athleticism and his wingspan to his shooting and defense, Little is truly special and gives the Blazers something they don’t have, and it’s obvious that he can become the player the Blazers have dreamt of for years at that forward spot.
Courtside 