For all the wrong reasons, the Portland Trail Blazers have been at the center of the NBA universe over the last 48 hours.
So what did that epicenter at 1 N Center Court Street look like Friday night as the Blazers hosted the Golden State Warriors about two days after Blazers Head Coach Chauncey Billups was arrested by the FBI? What was the scene as they played in the midst of a scandal drawing international intrigue?
Honestly, pretty calm. And not all that controversial.
Compared to the whirlwind of FBI arrests; illegal mafia-run gambling rings; James Bond-inspired, X-ray gadgetry for cheating poker games; late-night show lampooning; and the organization being the focus of national news and social media virality; Friday at the Moda Center was quite mundane as the Blazers overwhelmed the Warriors for a 139-119 win. The night was all about business and basketball — just what these Blazers want as they stare down 80 more regular-season games.
”Not great,“ new Blazers Interim Head Coach Tiago Splitter said pregame about the team’s mood at practice Thursday. ‘But like I said, we gotta move forward. We got a job to do.”
Splitter took the podium to take questions from media at 5:15 p.m., adhering to the usual pregame schedule of any game. The 6-foot-11 former NBA player from Brazil was calm and measured, supporting Portland guard Jrue Holiday’s postgame description of him as stoic. He seemed to choose his words carefully. Repeatedly, Splitter turned the attention to basketball. A question asking if he could communicate with Billups since the arrest received a simple no. When ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne asked about the wider issue of gambling in the NBA and what it means for the game’s integrity, he didn’t entertain it.
“Ramona, I would like not to talk about that,” Splitter said. “You put me in a tough position. I’m just gonna not comment on that.”
Then on the court, the Blazers came out with the same speed and defensive identity that defined their regular-season opener on Wednesday. It helped them sprint past the Warriors, who were finishing the second night of a back-to-back. Despite 35 points and seven 3s from Stephen Curry, Portland put the game on ice by the midway point in the fourth quarter. With Deni Avdija’s 26 points leading the way, the Blazers shot 50% from the field and 47.1% from beyond the arc. They also registered 30 assists, forced 25 turnovers and smashed Golden State in the paint 66-30.
“Regardless of what’s happened over the last few days, I think just getting a win this early in the season against a team who’s gonna try to make a run for a championship is a big deal for us,” Blazers wing Matisse Thybulle said. “ … More than anything, we’re just proving to ourselves what works and just to keep going with what we’re doing.”
The game not only gave the Blazers their first win of the season, but it gave Splitter his first career victory as an NBA head coach. For that feat, the players doused the coach with a cold water bottle shower in the locker room. As soon as Splitter told the team to bring it in after his postgame address, the players sprung the celebration on him.
“We didn’t wanna do it right when he walked in,” Holiday said. “He was too close to the door and maybe he could’ve ran out or something, so I think being able to get him in the middle of the circle was the best plan, and it was executed well.”
“More than thinking about myself, I’m just happy to see a smile on my players’ faces,” Splitter added about the moment.“
The Blazers may have also been celebrating their upcoming day off tomorrow, with only a flight to Los Angeles on the schedule. That was part of a deal Splitter used as motivation during the game, a payoff for pushing his players to go even faster than usual because of Golden State’s rest disadvantage.
”That’s what he told us,” Holiday said, confirming Splitter’s order to play faster. Then he turned to Thybulle, who was standing at the next locker to his left. “What did he tell us at halftime?”
“We won’t have practice [tomorrow]. No shoot-around,” responded Thybulle, laughing a little.
“The coaches said leave it all out there in the second half, and I feel like we did that,” Holiday continued.
A 20-point win, a joyous locker room celebration and a day off seem fitting for these players and coaches after a bizarre and difficult few days. In different variations, the speakers after Friday’s game talked about how shocking Thursday’s news was for them. Splitter said he’s still trying to understand what’s going on. Thybulle called the mood at Thursday’s practice “incredibly tense, awkward, and just not a situation anybody wants to be in.” With that, there also came concern and support for Billups and his family.
“He means a lot,” Camara said about Billups. “He’s one of the first coaches that took a chance on me. He gave me so much opportunity and kept on pushing me every time before every game and after every game. He talked to me so much off the court, so he’s somebody I have a ton of love and respect for.”
“From the first player to the last staff member, we all love Chauncey,” Avdija added. “He meant a lot to me. He meant a lot to everybody. He was a great person. As I said, it was a surprise, but at the end of the day, we’re just hoping the best for him, and we gotta keep moving forward, and no team is going to feel sorry for us.”
The last part of Avdija’s statement was the overwhelming sentiment from Splitter and players on Friday. The situation is difficult and unfortunate, but they plan on moving forward with their jobs and the goals they set out for this season. Thybulle said the long NBA season teaches you to have short-term memory and to embrace a next-man-up mentality. Through that lens, the situation is less complicated.
“I think, and I don’t mean any offense by this, but I think the media’s perspective is to try and create this narrative that there is a burden on us and there’s something that we need to overcome,” Thybulle said. “But the reality in these four walls, when we step on the court, when we go to practice or the plane, whatever it is, we’re just showing up to do our job. And we try to do it the best we can, and whoever is gonna be the one to lead us is going to lead us, and I think it’s pretty simple once we get in between the lines.”
When asked if basketball can be a form of catharsis during this situation, Thybulle continued:
“More than anything, we all go through sh– personally and stuff that no one ever hears about and basketball’s always been, I think for a lot of players, that place to just go and forget about it and play and get lost in it. It’s the thing that we love. It’s the escape for us, so I think more than anything, it’s just the same thing but just a different cause.”
Although the win over the Warriors brought a return to normalcy for the Blazers, the scandal surrounding Billups is far from over. The story will continue to develop as the season goes. Also, key representatives from the Blazers organization have yet to speak. That’s all coming down the pipe.
But for Interim Head Coach Tiago Splitter and his players, the next steps are straightforward.
“Just like I tackle every basketball day in my life,” said Splitter regarding how he’ll manage the team going forward with this story in the background. “We’re gonna get to watch film now. We’re gonna travel tomorrow to LA and just go from there. Day by day. Game by game.”
Source link
