Chauncey Billups warned us that he was going to experiment with different starting lineups throughout the Portland Trail Blazers' preseason. But we never imagined Deni Avdija would be demoted to a bench role, let alone be the first casualty!
Testing out these different starting lineup combinations makes perfect sense for a Blazers team that has seven legitimate starters when fully healthy. But it doesn't make sense to make your first variation one that brings your best player off the bench.
Deni Avdija's starting role should be off-limits
Some may think this signals that Billups will bring Avdija off the bench to start the season, but we actually view it as the opposite.