Jack Winter Articles - Page 56

The Portland Trail Blazers dared to deploy drop pick-and-roll coverage against Devin Booker on Wednesday night, a bet that paid off as the Phoenix Suns star scored 12 points on 5-of-15 shooting. Chris Paul fared much better in that comfort zone and overall, but still fell short of the table-setting dominance that could’ve propelled the […]

The Portland Trail Blazers squandered another encouraging performance from Damian Lillard on Wednesday, losing to the Phoenix Suns 119-109 at Footprint Center. The loss comes about 24 hours after they fell in similarly competitive yet frustrating fashion to the LA Clippers, moving the Blazers to 5-7 on the regular season—and an unnerving 0-6 on the […]

The Portland Trail Blazers lost their fifth straight road game to open the regular season on Friday, falling to the LA Clippers 117-109 at Staples Center. After the game, Chauncey Billups bemoaned his team’s penchant for losing focus on defense away from the friendly confines of Moda Center, remarks echoed by Damian Lillard. The numbers, […]

Damian Lillard almost looked like his All-NBA self in the Portland Trail Blazers’ hard-fought 117-109 loss to the LA Clippers on Tuesday night at Staples Center. He scored a game-high 27 points and doled out six assists, playing maestro for a Blazers offense that at times played well as it ever has over the first […]

Anfernee Simons introduced to himself a global audience at last season’s All-Star Weekend, living up to years of local hype by being crowned champion of the slam dunk contest. But what Portland Trail Blazers fans have always known about Simons was surely surprising to those who’d only grown familiar with him from his stunning aerial […]

A former player, coach and childhood fan of the Portland Trail Blazers has gone on the record detailing his fraught interactions with Neil Olshey, the team’s longtime president of basketball operations who’s recently come under investigation for workplace misconduct. Dan Dickau played for the Blazers during the 2006-07 season, re-joining them as a player development […]

The Portland Trail Blazers followed up a depressing three-game losing streak with a pair of wins at Moda Center in just over 24 hours. Ten games into the regular season, Chauncey Billups’ team is 5-5, enduring not only completely unforeseen struggles of its best player, but an ongoing investigation into allegations of workplace misconduct against […]

It didn’t take long for Stephon Gilmore to get revenge against his former team as the Carolina Panthers took on the New England Patriots in Week 9. The five-time Pro Bowler avoided a pick to jump a slant route in the second quarter on Sunday, picking off Patriots rookie quarterback Mac Jones for his second […]

PORTLAND — It’s clear Damian Lillard didn’t break out of a career-worst slump the way he wanted during the Portland Trail Blazers’ 105-90 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday. Only all-time shot-makers could be a bit displeased with their jumper after hitting six threes. “I thought I shot the ball better,” Lillard said. […]

Lost amid Damian Lillard’s career-worst slump and the Portland Trail Blazers’ ongoing adjustment to playing under Chauncey Billups have been the struggles of Robert Covington. Acquired for a pair of first-round picks before last season, Covington has hardly lived up to that price tag in the early going of 2021-22, struggling to find his footing […]

PORTLAND — The Portland Trail Blazers used an 18-5 run over the game’s final four minutes and 48 seconds for a rousing and much-needed 110-106 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night. The crunch-time identity that’s been the Blazers’ hallmark for the better part of a decade, though, was almost completely absent for the […]

Aaron Rodgers tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week, indirectly revealing that he intentionally misled the general public about his vaccination status dating back to August. In between discussing medical advice he solicited from Joe Rogan and misquoting Martin Luther King Jr. during a Friday interview on The Pat McAfee Show, the Green Bay Packers superstar […]

Crunch-time went much different for Damian Lillard against the Cleveland Cavaliers than the basketball world has come to expect since he entered the league nearly a decade ago. The Portland Trail Blazers superstar had several golden opportunities to complete his team’s arduous comeback on Wednesday, including a game-tying look from three as the fourth-quarter buzzer […]

Chauncey Billups wasn’t most frustrated by the Cleveland Cavaliers canning 15 threes en route to 50 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Jarrett Allen’s “monster” 24-point night didn’t draw much ire from the rookie head coach, either. What really left Billups displeased after the Portland Trail Blazers’ loss to the short-handed Cavaliers on Wednesday was […]

The NBA is poised to investigate allegations of racism and misogyny against Robert Sarver, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, in wake of a bombshell story that detailed ongoing workplace misconduct from the Phoenix Suns owner dating back more than a decade. Reporting on the NBA’s expected response in wake of @baxter’s investigation into Robert Sarver […]

The Portland Trail Blazers are heading home to Rip City winless following Wednesday’s disappointing 107-104 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, finishing a quick Eastern Conference road trip 0-3. Here are three key takeaways from another frustrating Blazers defeat. The Wrong Kind of Dame Time Lillard’s fingerprints were all over crunch-time…just not in the way Rip […]

The most shocking slump of Damian Lillard’s career continued on Monday, the Portland Trail Blazers franchise player needing 20 shots to score as many points while going 2-of-9 from three in a dispiriting loss to the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers. A seven-game sample size isn’t near big enough to draw any meaningful conclusions, but especially about […]

Winning on the second night of a road back-to-back is tough in the NBA, especially for teams based on the West coast facing Eastern Conference foes. Don’t expect the Portland Trail Blazers to take any solace from that reality considering the quality of Monday’s competition, though. The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Blazers 113-103 at Wells […]

The Portland Trail Blazers squandered a seven-point halftime lead on Sunday, falling to the Charlotte Hornets 125-113 on the first leg of a tough Eastern Conference back-to-back. Here are three takeaways from the Blazers’ Halloween loss to Charlotte, one highlighted by another sinister shooting night from Damian Lillard. Porous Second-Half Defense Portland got control of […]

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley has announced he’s stepping away from football. The fourth-year wide receiver was inactive for his team’s Week 8 matchup with the Carolina Panthers due to a personal matter. It’s the second game Ridley has missed this season due to personal issues. He didn’t travel with the Falcons to London […]

Almost two weeks into the regular season, the Portland Trail Blazers have been arguably the most volatile team in the NBA. At 3-2 following a pair of impressive double-digit victories over Western Conference playoff hopefuls, though, there’s plenty of reason for optimism in Rip City. Here are three overreactions for Portland based on its first […]

The Portland Trail Blazers put forth another stellar team-wide effort on Friday night at Moda Center, defeating the LA Clippers 111-92 despite Paul George going off for a typically smooth 42 points. Not bad for a Portland team that fell to the Clippers by 30 points earlier this week in a performance that Chauncey Billups […]

The Brooklyn Nets haven’t exactly lived up to preseason expectations as a championship favorite over the first five games of the regular season. James Harden has admitted he’s out of shape following a summer spent rehabbing his hamstring, and is clearly adjusting to the league’s new officiating guidelines on unnatural movement from offensive players. Steve […]

C.J. McCollum began last season playing the best basketball of his life for the Portland Trail Blazers. Long pigeonholed into the very good but not-good-enough category of a team’s second-best player, he broke from that mold over the first 13 games of 2020-21, providing Portland a much-needed sense of upward mobility in the Western Conference. […]

The Memphis Grizzlies put up 57 points in the first half of Wednesday’s game, slicing and dicing the Portland Trail Blazers’ half-court defense en route to a stellar 116.3 offensive rating. More discouraging for Portland going into intermission? Ja Morant was underwhelming compared to the sky-high standard he set over the season’s first three games, […]

Spurred by an utterly dominant second-half performance on both sides of the ball, the Portland Trail Blazers routed the Memphis Grizzlies 116-96 on Wednesday night at Moda Center. Here are four positives from the Blazers’ impressive victory, which moves them to 2-2 for the 2021-22 season. The Entire Second Half Portland trailed 57-51 at halftime, […]

During the third-quarter nadir of the Portland Trail Blazers’ “embarrassing” loss to the LA Clippers, there were a few fleeting moments that made it easy to wonder if everything was alright with Damian Lillard. He’d just airmailed another three-pointer, threw a pocket pass to Jusuf Nurkic’s heel and came up short on a half-contested layup. […]

Forty-eight hours after reaching their peak, the Portland Trail Blazers hit rock bottom. Chauncey Billups’ new team was embarrassed by his old one on Monday night at Staples Center, falling 116-86 to the LA Clippers. Here are three takeaways from the Blazers’ 30-point drubbing, one every bit as ugly as the final score indicates—if not […]

The Portland Trail Blazers will take on a winless LA Clippers squad at Staples Center on Monday night, but don’t blame Paul George. Picking up right where he left off from last year’s playoffs, George has thrived as the Clippers’ alpha dog without Kawhi Leonard over the first two games of the regular season, averaging […]

The Portland Trail Blazers weren’t going to let anything ruin the joyous post-game vibes stemming from Chauncey Billups’ rousing first victory as a head coach, a dominant 134-105 win over the Phoenix Suns. As Damian Lillard and company doused Billups with a celebratory locker-room shower, though, one player was noticeably absent from the festivities—and could’ve […]

Joe Burrow’s favorite downfield target with the Cincinnati Bengals is Ja’Marr Chase, with Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins probably next in line. Don’t tell that to C.J. Uzomah, though. The veteran tight end caught a 55-yard touchdown pass from Burrow in the Bengals’ crucial game against the Baltimore Ravens, rumbling to the end zone by […]

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ season didn’t end the way anyone in the organization imagined. After they fell to the Atlanta Braves in the National League Championship Series on Saturday night, though, manager Dave Roberts made sure the Dodgers kept their standout 2021 season in proper perspective. “It was a tremendous season. It was a heck […]

Losing to a team that was winless in its last 20 games with a head coach embroiled in yet another off-field scandal, believe it or not, has caused the Miami Dolphins to hit rock bottom. According to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, the Dolphins’ locker room has grown increasingly frustrated with head coach Brian […]

The Dallas Cowboys have a bye on Sunday, but their fans across the globe got some very good news about Dak Prescott’s injury status regardless. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the two-time Pro Bowler is set to start on Halloween against the Minnesota Vikings, putting concerns about his injured calf completely to rest. The […]

PORTLAND — The Portland Trail Blazers got both their first win of the regular season and the Chauncey Billups era in rousing fashion on Saturday night, blowing out the Phoenix Suns 134-105 at Moda Center. Here are four takeaways from Portland’s dominant victory over the reigning Western Conference champions, a game every bit as lopsided as […]

Damian Lillard is the greatest player in Portland Trail Blazers history. He’s made six All-NBA teams, played in six All-Star Games, won Rookie of the Year and earned a gold medal with Team USA at the Beijing Olympics. The unique space Lillard occupies in NBA culture might be as impressive as any of those accomplishments. […]

Ben Simmons finally addressed the Philadelphia 76ers directly on Friday. While the team seems to have responded well to the disgruntled All-Star’s admission of ongoing mental health issues, Joel Embiid was still surely left frustrated by Simmons’ refusal to shed light on the justification of his trade demand. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic […]

A popular internal talking point from the Portland Trail Blazers before the regular season was the success of their incumbent starting lineup. Whether a subliminal message to Damian Lillard as he pondered leaving Rip City or just more general justification for bringing the band back together, Neil Olshey, Chauncey Billups and even some players championed […]

As the fourth quarter clocked ticked toward zeroes, with the Portland Trail Blazers down just three points following a spirited late-game comeback, Damian Lillard dribbled the ball up the floor, crossed over between his legs and stepped back for a 30-footer. But one of his worst shooting nights ended the way it had transpired from […]