Nassir Little Continuing to Regain Confidence After Injuries, Navigating an Uncertain Role

Nassir Little came into the season hoping and expecting to be the Trail Blazers' starting small forward. It hasn't worked out that way.

After an up-and-down preseason while he was working off the rust from shoulder and core muscle surgeries last spring, Little signed a four-year, $28 million extension in October, but his role and minutes through the first month of the season have been inconsistent.

Little has been largely productive when he has been on the floor this season. He's shooting a career-high 43.3 percent from three-point range and bringing energy on defense. But with the Blazers' depth on the wing and their strong start to the season, his playing time has fluctuated.

"I didn't think it was going to be like that," Little told me after the Blazers' Tuesday night win over the Spurs, in which he played 14 minutes off the bench and finished with two points, three rebounds, a steal and three turnovers. "But I also think we've played way better than we expected to be, so this is how the cards shook out."

Last season, Little became a full-time starter as the Blazers' season went sideways and their focus shifted from competing for the playoffs to developing young players. He was in the midst of a breakout year when a labral tear in his left shoulder shut him down for the season in February.

"Nas is continuing to gain his confidence," head coach Chauncey Billups said before Tuesday's game. "He had some really big moments on the road trip. He's just working his way back. When he left off last year, his confidence was probably at an all-time high. Playing amazing. And we've seen some glimpses of it [this year]. He's working his way back. I'm happy for him."

It's taken time for Little to get back to where he was physically. But even with his uneven minutes, he's happy with where he is right now.

"I feel like I'm better [than last season]," Little said. "But it's hard to compare it to last year because the volume's not the same. It was just a different dynamic, so it's hard to put it on a linear comparison. But I feel like I've improved in pretty much every aspect of the game. It's not easy coming off an injury. So for me to be coming off not playing in that long, I think I'm playing really well."

Josh Hart won the starting small forward job in training camp and has played well in that role. For most of the season, Justise Winslow has been the first wing off the bench and has excelled. That's already created something of a minutes crunch, which is only going to continue when Gary Payton II makes his season debut in the near future.

In the short term, Little may continue to be the one to bear the brunt of the Blazers' depth. But he feels good about his own play and, needless to say, the way the team is winning. In fact, he feels really good about that part.

"Confidence-wise, I feel like I'm in a great space," Little said. "I've been playing well. We're a deep team, man. So minutes are definitely cut from what I'm used to. But that's part of the sacrifice when you're a championship-caliber team like I think we are."

Not many people around the organization have said those words—"championship-caliber"—out loud. They weren't saying it before training camp started, and they certainly weren't saying it after an awful showing in the preseason. Even now, as the Blazers sit at 10-4 with the best record in the Western Conference, you're not hearing that kind of talk from players or others in the organization. But Little sees them as a contender.

"You can't be one without thinking it," he said. "You've got to start with that."