LAS VEGAS -- The 2019 Summer League edition of the Portland Trail Blazers begin their slate of games in Las Vegas with a tilt versus the Detroit Pistons Saturday afternoon at Thomas & Mack arena on the campus of UNLV. Tipoff is scheduled for 12:30 p.m.
While teams tend to prioritize improvement over wins at summer league — and rightfully so — the players on Portland’s roster have noted they’re motivated to repeat in Las Vegas after going undefeated on the way to being crowned tournament champions in 2018.
“Play to the best of my abilities, be a great teammate and win summer league,” said Trail Blazers guard Gary Trent Jr. “That’s the goal… We’re trying to win it, back-to-back.”
Trent Jr. joins Anfernee Simons as the only carryovers from Portland’s 2018 summer league championship roster, which featured the likes of Zach Collins, Jake Layman, Caleb Swanigan and Wade Baldwin. But the relative lack of returners hasn’t dampened their enthusiasm to go on another hot streak in Las Vegas.
“Obviously we're competitors so you want to win each time you go on the court,” said Simons. “A lot of people saying we might not win, but we won last year, so I feel like we've got the best odds of winning this year as well.”
Portland’s odds of repeating will hinge in large part on the performance of forward/center Skal Labissierre and rookie forward Nassir Little, who will make his Blazers debut Saturday afternoon after being selected out of North Carolina with the 25th overall pick of the 2019 Draft.
“It’s as high as ever,” said Little of his enthusiasm going into the first game of his professional career. “I’m excited to play the first summer league game and then transition that to the regular season. So excited… it’s a dream come true.”
Saturday’s game is the first of four play-in games, with the results from those contests determining seeding once tournament play starts. Portland is guaranteed to play at least five games in Las Vegas.
Portland’s summer league opener versus Detroit can be seen on ESPNU starting at 12:30 p.m. The game will also stream live on Trailblazers.com (subject to blackout restrictions).