Phoenix at Portland

The NBA opens its 2026-27 season in Portland with a rebuilt Blazers roster and a thin frontcourt. Damian Lillard has not played a game that counts since the 2025 postseason, when he tore his Achilles. Ja Morant arrives by trade and makes his regular-season debut with Portland. Shaedon Sharpe is out after meniscus surgery. Deni Avdija, who averaged 24.2 points last season, is questionable with an ankle problem. Branden Carlson is in concussion protocol, and Micah Potter is questionable, so the big-man rotation could be short. Phoenix went 20-21 on the road and 45-37 overall. The Suns lost Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neale and their 371 combined threes. Mark Williams is out for months, and Luke Kennard is questionable. Phoenix forced 15.5 turnovers per game last year, third in the league, and Portland is leaning on a guard-heavy group with no regular-season history together. The road team won all four meetings between these clubs last season. Jordan Ott enters his second year with Devin Booker, Dillon Brooks, and Jalen Green, and I see a continuity edge over a Blazers team still sorting out its rotation. I'm backing Phoenix with the points tonight.