PORTLAND — It is going to be a very long time earlier than the Portland Path Blazers are capable of course of the pre-dawn arrest Thursday of head coach Chauncey Billups in a federal investigation associated to rigged poker video games backed by the Mafia.
However the means of transferring ahead started Friday as they performed their first recreation below new coach Tiago Splitter and beat the Golden State Warriors 139-119 on the Moda Heart.
“Actually, it’s a robust second,” stated Splitter, a former participant for the San Antonio Spurs whose solely head teaching expertise earlier than Friday got here within the Euro League with Paris Basketball final season. “I imply all of us had nice expertise with Chauncey, and we’re pondering of him and his household. However we now have a job to do and we now have to maneuver ahead.”
Splitter and basic supervisor Joe Cronin addressed the workforce Thursday afternoon simply hours after Billups’ gorgeous arrest. Neither had slept various hours when information of the arrest began spreading. Splitter informed ESPN that he went to mattress round 2 a.m. after watching tape of the Blazers’ season-opening loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves and was woken up shortly after 6 a.m. when information reviews began to unfold.
Just a few hours later, Splitter was in Cronin’s workplace being requested to take over as the pinnacle coach. Lead assistant coach Nate Bjorkgren had earlier head teaching expertise, however workforce sources stated Bjorkgren had earlier come to Cronin and informed him that Splitter was the only option to take over and he felt he may greatest assist the workforce in his present function, working the protection.
Billups had recruited Splitter away from a head teaching function with Paris Basketball over the summer time to assist revamp the Blazers’ offense and he’d been implementing modifications over the previous few months.
This type of promotion, below these circumstances, was lower than best.
“I’ve to be prepared,” he stated. “I used to be prepared, I’m prepared.”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr didn’t know Splitter properly, however their paths and circles have many intersections.
“I met with him in Paris final yr through the Olympics,” Kerr stated. “David Kahn, the proprietor [of Paris Basketball], texted e and requested if I might meet with Tiago. We spent a while collectively. Had an ideal go to. Then he was wildly profitable profitable the French league, getting rave opinions. David informed me what an incredible coach he thought he was. He stated he thought he’d be an NBA head coach sometime. No one desires it to be below these circumstances. However there’s a cause Tiago is right here. He’s a gifted man.”
Beating the Warriors — even a drained model of the Warriors on the second night time of a back-to-back — was pretty much as good of a begin and palate cleanser as Splitter and the Blazers may’ve hoped for after Billups arrest and arraignment on Thursday.
Deni Avdija led Portland with 26 factors on 11 of 18 photographs. Jerami Grant added 22 factors off the bench and all 5 Blazers starters completed in double figures. Portland shot 54 p.c from the sphere and hit 16 of 34 3-pointers (47 p.c).