No Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday, Scoot Henderson, Blake Wesley, Shaedon Sharpe, Matisse Thybulle? No problem. The Portland Trail Blazers were essentially missing their entire backcourt rotation, yet managed to pull off a 127-123 road win over the Golden State Warriors, advancing to 2-1 in NBA Cup play.
This game was a prime example of why shorthanded teams are so challenging to gameplan against. The Blazers were able to generate offense from unexpected sources, particularly two-way players Caleb Love and Sidy Cissoko. Deni Avdija was just as impressive in his increased role, taking on more of the playmaking as a point forward.