Offensive Dreams Become A Reality In Stauskas's Portland Debut

Trail Blazers fans tend to pay closer attention to the entire roster, one through 15, than their peers in other NBA cities, so it’s not as if the majority of those in attendance Thursday night at the Moda Center were unaware of Nik Stauskas, who signed with Portland as a free agent during the 2018 offseason. But to see the 6-6 guard in his fifth season out of Michigan come out and put up a career-high tying 24 points in Portland’s 128-119 victory versus the Lakers in their home opener did serve as an official introduction to Rip City. “I think in that first half, most of my shots just felt great,” said Stauskas. “Meyers (Leonard) got me open on two good looks in the first quarter. And then as a shooter, you get two good looks to go down, things kind of start opening up after that. Just try to be aggressive and my teammates did a good job of finding me.”And according to Stauskas, Thursday’s game might have been a bit of a reminder for the Lakers as well. He has bounced around the NBA since being selected with the eighth overall pick of the 2014 Draft, playing for the Kings, 76ers and Nets prior to arriving in Portland, so it’s somewhat understandable why Stauskas might not have garnered much attention on the first game of the season. But even he seemed a bit surprised by his good fortune by way of the Lakers’ inattentiveness. “The way I was open on those first two shots, I don’t think I was part of the scouting report or anything,” said Stauskas, who made his first six shots before finishing 7-of-11 from the field. “So yeah, it felt good to kind of put myself on the map a little bit.”With 24 points Thursday night, Stauskas also put himself in a tie for third with Maurice Lucas and John Johnson in terms of most points scored in a Trail Blazers’ debut. Stauskas’s 24 points also ties Pat Connaughton, who Stauskas was brought in to replace in some respects, for most points scored off the bench in a Trail Blazers season opener. So while he probably deserved more attention from Los Angeles’ defense than he received Thursday night — not that anyone in Portland is complaining — he also was doing something that few had done before him. But the question now becomes whether Stauskas’ performance in the opener was a harbinger of things to come or a pleasant one off occurrence. Nobody is expecting him to average 20+ points, or even half that, on better than 60 percent shooting, but if he can come anywhere close, it would go a long way toward shoring up the offensive deficiencies that have plagued Portland’s bench at times throughout the last three seasons.“I’ve been saying from Day One of preseason: I think this offense is a guard’s dream,” said Stauskus. “Just with the movement that we have with the screens, coming off pindowns, for me it’s a dream come true just to play in this offense. I’ve been excited from Day One and I’m just getting an opportunity to show it now.”