Blazers' Nassir Little looking to shake off rough preseason debut

Nassir Little is working to shake off a rough preseason game with the Blazers last Monday, Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian writes. Little finished with just three points in 24 minutes, shooting 1-of-9 from the floor with five turnovers. He also registered a team-worst minus-16 net rating.

“I was a little anxious,” Little admitted. “I was super excited to play.”

Portland next plays on Monday against Sacramento, giving Little and the Blazers a full week to re-focus. The 21-year-old is one of the youngest players on the Blazers' preseason roster, having been drafted No. 25 overall by Portland in 2019.

“There’s a lot of stuff that we’re all learning,” he said. “A lot of new stuff is being put in, so just being able to take advantage of this time to practice is going to be huge for me and the entire team.”

Here are some other notes from the Northwest Division:

• Speaking of the Blazers, center Cody Zeller underwent successful surgery on Friday to repair a broken nose, according to Aaron J. Fentress of The Oregonian (Twitter link). Portland has yet to offer a timeline for his return.
• Mike Singer of the Denver Post examines multiple Nuggets-related topics in his latest mailbag, including a possible extension for PJ Dozier. He is set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer. He’s coming off the best season of his four-year career, averaging 7.7 points per game in 50 contests.
• Singer also examined the development of Bol Bol in a separate article for the Denver Post. Bol was acquired by the Nuggets on the night of the 2019 NBA Draft, and Singer notes that he appears to be more engaged with the team during the preseason. He’s appeared in only 39 NBA games to date.