Blazers Thrive Under Nori's Attention to Detail

Portland guard Scoot Henderson credits new head coach Micah Nori for sharpening the team's small details after Tiago Splitter's departure.

Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Basketball

Blazers Thrive Under Nori's Attention to Detail

The Portland Trail Blazers parted ways with head coach Tiago Splitter, and Micah Nori has replaced him. Guard Scoot Henderson said Nori is helping the team with small details the squad lacked last year.

Why it matters

The Blazers averaged the most turnovers in the NBA last year, so Nori's emphasis on details addresses a clear weakness. The early results suggest the change could push Portland toward being one of the better teams in the league.

The Blazers are 6-1 and lead the league at 121.9 points per game, while their turnover rank has climbed to 14th of 30 teams after more than 17 per game last year, the most in the NBA. The seven-game sample is too small to show whether the improvement will last.

The players

Micah Nori

Nori is the new Portland Trail Blazers head coach who replaced Tiago Splitter and is known for emphasizing small details and playing players to their strengths.

Scoot Henderson

Henderson is a Portland Trail Blazers guard whose public comments on the team's coaching change have drawn attention to its focus on fundamentals.

The details

Micah Nori, who replaced Splitter, instructed his coaching staff to read Ernest Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea" and has focused on playing players to their strengths. Henderson said the team lacked small details last year and that Nori is addressing them.

Last year: Blazers averaged the most turnovers in the NBA, more than 17 per game.
Two weeks into the regular season: Blazers hold a 6-1 record, the best in the Western Conference.

Season Trajectory

Portland's league-high turnover total last year, more than 17 per game, made ball security the team's central weakness. Its current 14th-place ranking and 6-1 start suggest that Nori's coaching changes are beginning to reverse that pattern.

Fantasy managers tracking Portland's guards may want to watch how the team's turnover rate and rotation changes under Nori, since better ball security could raise assist and efficiency numbers. Any shift in how minutes are distributed would directly affect player value.

The takeaway

Early results show that focusing on fundamentals like ball security can change a team's outlook quickly, even mid-season. Fans and fantasy players should track whether Portland's turnover improvement holds as the schedule gets tougher.