Ja Morant appeared to be reviving his career in his first four games with the Trail Blazers, which makes the timing of his left hamstring injury especially unfortunate, writes Bill Oram of The Oregonian. Morant suffered the injury in Thursday’s game and won’t be reevaluated for another four weeks.

Oram states that the loss of Morant could interrupt early-season momentum for both him and the team. His time in Memphis ended amid repeated injuries, off-court issues and clashes with the coaching staff, but he’s fit in perfectly since Portland acquired him in a trade over the summer. He averaged 16.3 points and 6.3 assists his first three games, with the Blazers winning each one.

“I think what he sees here is that he’s on a good ballclub with a lot of good offensive players and he doesn’t have to do everything,” coach Micah Nori said. Nori had confidence that Morant would adapt to his new surroundings, but he’s been surprised with the ease of the transition.

Oram notes that the good news is that Morant won’t need surgery and there’s a chance he’ll be back on the court by the end of November. However, seeing him sidelined with a serious injury so quickly raises durability issues that could derail the team’s season.

There’s more from Portland:

• Scoot Henderson took Morant’s place in the starting lineup for Saturday’s game at Utah, per Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. Freeman explains that Nori opted to keep Jrue Holiday with the second unit because he doesn’t want to be tempted to give extended minutes to Holiday or fellow 36-year-old guard Damian Lillard. Henderson, who’s headed for restricted free agency, posted 14 points, three rebounds, three steals and four turnovers in 31 minutes. Freeman states that he was considered the team’s “training camp MVP” and now has an opportunity to increase his value ahead of next summer’s contract negotiations.
• Deni Avdija has been overshadowed by several offseason storylines, but he continues to be the cornerstone of the franchise, Freeman states in the same piece. He notes that having Lillard and Morant in the backcourt has created more space for Avdija and has led to a huge improvement in his offensive efficiency during the early part of the season.
• Vit Krejci also had an expanded role with Morant unavailable, playing a season-high 24 minutes on Saturday, observes Sahal Arwo of SI. The 26-year-old guard moved into the rotation after being acquired from Atlanta in February, but he has played sparingly this season.