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Breaking information: Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups has been arrested in a federal playing probe. This story was set to publish earlier than information of the arrest.
Since Chauncey Billups arrived on the first day of coaching camp sporting a Portland Trail Blazers shirt with the phrases “Make ‘Em Uncomfortable” scribbled across the back, he has urged his team to adopt that mantra.
And for three-and-a-half quarters in their season-opening matchup against a team that has reached the Western Conference finals each of the last two years, the Blazers did just that.
Portland pushed the Minnesota Timberwolves to the brink of defeat in a fast-paced, hustle-infused, entertaining slugfest Wednesday night at the Moda Center. But in the end, the battle-tested Timberwolves made more timely plays down the stretch, hit more clutch shots in crunch time and stole a win, edging the Blazers 118-114 before a sellout crowd of 19,335.
With incoming new owner Tom Dundon watching from the front row, a season filled with great optimism opened with a harsh defeat. But lurking behind the costly fourth-quarter turnovers, key late-game misses and hard-to-swallow final few minutes was a wealth of positives for a team creeping out of a multiyear rebuild and still learning how to win.
It was, in many ways, a Jekyll and Hyde debut, in which the Blazers played well, offered hope, but didn’t have sufficient to defeat probably the greatest groups within the Western Conference.
Here are three issues we realized on opening evening:
THIS TEAM IS GOING TO BE FUN
The Blazers entered the season promising to reply Billups’ name to make opponents uncomfortable they usually backed it up.
They hounded and harassed and hustled on protection. They utilized relentless full-court strain. They pushed the tempo. They performed ridiculously exhausting and ridiculously quick.
Along the way in which, it grew to become clear: This crew goes to be enjoyable to observe.
“Who doesn’t want to watch their players play their hardest basketball?” Matisse Thybulle stated. “We’re picking up full-court every possession. We’re pushing the ball in transition every possession we can. And it feels like, as a fan, you’re getting every dollar’s worth of your tickets, because of the effort that’s being given. There’s always criticism of guys not playing hard and all this stuff, and I just don’t think anyone’s ever going to be able to say that about the Trail Blazers.”
They definitely couldn’t say it Wednesday evening.
Jerami Grant placed on an offensive present, erupting for 29 factors in his new function off the bench. Deni Avdija lived as much as his turbo popularity, recording 20 factors and 7 rebounds as he meep meeped his means across the courtroom. Toumani Camara produced 10 factors, 9 rebounds and 5 assists, whereas enjoying harassing protection. Donovan Clingan (eight factors, six rebounds, two steals, one block) made his presence felt in a sport that featured a surplus of small lineups.
And greater than something, Thybulle, Blake Wesley, Jrue Holiday, Camara, Clingan and seemingly anybody who stepped on the courtroom with a Blazers jersey utilized unyielding defensive strain, swarming ballhandlers, poking away steals, chasing runners off screens and customarily wreaking havoc.
If you simply scanned the field rating and noticed the 118 factors and 49% capturing from the sector (50% from long-range), you’d suppose the Blazers had been a defensive pushover.
You’d be flawed.
“That’s the best feeling when you feel your whole team being connected,” Camara stated of the Blazers’ protection. “Everybody’s on the same page, especially on the defensive side. I think it’s a thing that not a lot of teams take a lot of pride in. So being able to do that and help all the guys on the court, being able to show that commitment towards defense, I think is huge. And it brings energy to offense. It brings transition more. It brings more connection within everybody.”
It additionally brings enjoyable.
There hasn’t been quite a lot of it in recent times, not because the Blazers had been chasing lottery ping pong balls and lopsided losses grew to become the norm. That 62-point defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder final January? That 60-point eyesore to the Miami Heat final March? That shudder-inducing 56-point spanking in opposition to the Golden State Warriors in April 2023?
The lowest of lows are a factor of the previous. The Blazers tried 90 subject targets, together with 42 threes, and shot 35 free throws Wednesday, as their Energizer Bunny-pace stored going and going, giving them an opportunity in opposition to the red-hot Timberwolves and sharpshooter Anthony Edwards, who completed with 41 factors.
So whereas it could be tempting to go away pissed off concerning the defeat, it could be clever to go away inspired by the product and potential.
“I think it’s more about us and the things we can be excited about,” stated Holiday, who completed with 14 factors, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals. “We played well for three-and-a-half quarters. I think that (our play) down the stretch is just something we’re going to have to figure out about. Controlling the pace, controlling the game a little bit more. But I think for most of the game, we had control of the game. So I’m really excited about how we play, how we play together. It’s really fun to be out there. The rotations and the guys that we have, we all kind of know our role and what we’re supposed to do. It was a fun game even though we lost.”
A TASTE OF WHAT’S TO COME?
Amid all of the enjoyable, nevertheless, there was additionally a sobering dose of actuality for these predicting a Portland playoff berth. It gained’t come simple.
In truth, Las Vegas oddsmakers — who’ve set the Blazers’ over-under at 33.5 to 34.5 wins— consider it gained’t come in any respect. So there very nicely could be extra nights just like the one we noticed Wednesday. Nights when the Blazers play nicely, present promise and push elite groups to the brink, solely to lose in the long run.
And that’s OK.
The Western Conference is deep. Silly deep. So deep, Billups stated it could be “as good as I’ve ever seen it.” So because the Blazers take the subsequent step of their multiyear rebuild, as they creep away from the worst and showcase the potential of their finest, a win may not all the time accompany the progress. The Thunder, Warriors, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, LA Clippers and, sure, Timberwolves are chasing larger ambitions than a easy playoff berth.
“We’re going to be playing against some powerhouses from the very beginning,” Billups stated. “Teams with actually championship aspirations and goals. And they are actually contenders. So we’ve got to be realistic about it, as well, and know that I want us to get better and keep taking steps. And we will. But, like, we’re not a championship team right now. I don’t want us to get crazy here. We’ve got to be honest with it.”
So, yeah, the Blazers seem like enjoyable. They play an entertaining model of basketball. They will nearly definitely be higher than final season.
But there will likely be extra hiccups the remainder of the way in which, extra fourth-quarter collapses and extra close-but-not-quite finishes. It’s merely a part of the subsequent step.
GRANT DELIVERS OFF THE BENCH
It took one evening to ease any fear about how Grant would possibly carry out in his new function off the bench. The Blazers’ veteran wing was maybe the very best and most dependable participant in opposition to the Timberwolves.
He began scorching, scoring 10 factors on 4-for-5 capturing in his first 12 minutes, and didn’t let up the remainder of the evening. By sport’s finish, Grant had scored 29 factors, whereas making 10 of 14 photographs, together with 4 of seven three-pointers.
Afterward, he acknowledged that it’d take some time to develop accustomed to his new function — he’s coming off the bench for the primary time since enjoying within the NBA bubble in 2020 — however dismissed any notion he’s stewing about shedding his beginning job to Shaedon Sharpe.
“I’m just trying to play basketball, to be honest,” Grant stated. “Whatever it is, I’m going to accept it.
“Like I said, I’m a basketball player. Wherever I’m at, I’m going to do what I’ve got to do.”
Billups has repeatedly stated that he believes he has seven starters on his roster — Holiday, Sharpe, Avdija, Camara, Clingan, Grant and Scoot Henderson — and he has urged his gamers to keep away from letting standing or ego have an effect on their strategy. Grant, evidently, is following his coach’s recommendation.
“I don’t become a worse player because I’m coming off the bench,” he stated.
Indeed. On an evening the Blazers struggled from the sector, he was their most constant offensive risk. He had 16 factors at halftime, when the Blazers led 61-57. He went 3 for 3 from the sector within the third quarter. And he hit a clutch three within the fourth to momentarily quell Minnesota’s momentum and provides the Blazers a 103-95 lead. His solely noticeable blemish got here down the stretch, when he missed a 3 within the ultimate minute.
“He’s a professional,” Holiday stated of Grant. “He’s a professional and he wants to win. And I think he showed that. It’s not necessarily about starting. He’s in the game and he’s playing a lot of minutes and he’s doing a lot of things. He’s in the game at the end of the game and we rely on him. So I think a lot of people put that title on someone about being a starter and how important it is to be a starter. But you’ve seen a lot of great players not start and contribute to a great team. So, he’s obviously a starter, you know what I’m saying? But Jeremy is just doing what Jeremy does.”
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