Portland Trail Blazers lineup adjustment against the Los Angeles Lakers, Digi Mart USA News: With the Portland Trail Blazers set to continue their road trip in Los Angeles against the Lakers, a lineup change may be needed. It would not necessarily be permanent, but it would be a change nonetheless.
The suggestion may seem rash given the strong start the Blazers have had to the 2026-27 NBA regular season. Portland has already beaten the Lakers once at home this year, along with the Sacramento Kings, Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns twice.
Still, the source argues there is an obvious hole in the starting lineup that needs attention if Portland hopes to contain Luka Doncic. Scoot Henderson has struggled in his three starts since Ja Morant suffered a Grade 2 left hamstring strain against the Memphis Grizzlies, Portland’s only loss so far.
Over that stretch, Henderson has averaged 10.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists, shooting 30.7 percent (8 of 26) overall and 30.7 percent from three-point range (4 of 13). The source notes he has been acceptable defensively for most of the year, though advanced metrics based on seven games may not mean much against an offense like the Lakers’.
According to Cleaning The Glass, which excludes garbage time and end-of-quarter possessions, Los Angeles ranks second in points scored per 100 possessions (121.9), first in effective field goal percentage (60.7 percent), first in free throw rate (30.3 made free throws per 100 field goal attempts), second in rim accuracy (74.6 percent) and second in three-point percentage (39.1 percent).
Doncic scored 41 points against Portland in their first meeting and is averaging 38.5 points, 8.1 rebounds and 8.0 assists for the Lakers, on 49.5 percent shooting from the field, 43.1 percent from three and 89.3 percent (9.4 of 10.5) from the free throw line.
The source recommends sliding Jrue Holiday into the starting five. Toumani Camara should draw the Doncic matchup for most of the game, but Portland would be wise to add perimeter help that can switch onto the Slovenian star.
There is also a reasonable chance the Lakers target Damian Lillard on offense, and adding Henderson to that mix could create significant problems for Portland. The source suggests Lillard and Henderson share the floor sparingly, preferably only when Doncic is resting, while a defensive group of Sidy Cissoko, Camara and Holiday works to slow the Lakers’ scoring.
