Damian Lillard says Ja Morant not just pretending to be happy in Portland

Ja Morant’s first preseason game with Portland was a mixed bag. His attitude apparently hasn’t been.

Morant finished with eight points, five assists and four turnovers in 19 minutes Wednesday while starting alongside Damian Lillard, but Jason Quick of The Athletic reports that the more encouraging development has been how comfortable Morant looks in his new surroundings.

“I feel like he has a lot of joy right now,” Lillard said. “I can tell he is not pretending to be happy.”

Lillard said Morant has been smiling, engaged and invested throughout practices and around teammates.

That matters after a difficult final season in Memphis, where Morant had friction with the coaching staff and front office.

There are still obvious basketball questions about pairing two ball-dominant guards, but Lillard isn’t especially worried about that either.

“I think our potential is great,” he said.

Lillard pointed to his years playing alongside CJ McCollum as proof that an undersized backcourt can still win.

“We never had a losing team,” Lillard said. “We won and gave people some problems. And I think we have a similar situation with Ja.”