Jack Winter Articles - Page 58

The Portland Trail Blazers have announced that assistant coach Milt Palacio has been placed on administrative leave due to his indictment for an alleged health insurance fraud scheme involving 18 former NBA players. Portland released a statement acknowledging Palacio’s involvement in the matter following Thursday’s practice. “We are aware of charges as they have become […]

One of the most consequential seasons in Portland Trail Blazers history tips off in exactly two weeks. Chauncey Billups’ team had the day off following its loss to the Golden State Warriors in the preseason opener, the second off-day Portland has enjoyed since training camp officially began September 28th. After a full week of practices—at […]

Cody Zeller’s official debut with the Portland Trail Blazers has likely been delayed. Considering the severity of his broken nose, the veteran big man is lucky Andre Iguodala’s elbow didn’t do even more damage. Chauncey Billups announced on Wednesday that Zeller is set for surgery to repair the broken nose he suffered in Portland’s preseason […]

The Portland Trail Blazers’ defense in their exhibition loss to the Golden State Warriors wasn’t quite as porous as it often appeared on the floor, at least statistically. The Warriors’ point total was juiced by the high pace of Monday’s affair. Their offensive rating was just 110.0, well below league average last season, and wasn’t […]

Analysis of the Portland Trail Blazers’ porous defense against the Golden State Warriors can wait, and there’s only so much to be gleaned from it in the first place. This is preseason basketball, remember, when offenses league-wide are expected to be ahead of defenses, let alone for a team with a rookie head coach who’s […]

The Chauncey Billups era in Rip City didn’t exactly live up to its promise during his team’s preseason debut. Gashed on defense from the opening tip and far too careless with the ball offensively, the Portland Trail Blazers fell 121-107 to the Golden State Warriors on Monday night at Moda Center. Portland coughed up 26 […]

The Chauncey Billups era has officially begun, and the Portland Trail Blazers seem reinvigorated as a result. But it’s easy to find confidence in the afterglow of Media Day, especially for a veteran team like Portland that clearly grew tired of hearing Terry Stotts’ voice during his ninth and final season in Rip City. Hope […]

The Detroit Lions just can’t stay out of their own way. Late in the first quarter of his team’s Week 4 matchup with the Chicago Bears, Lions quarterback Jared Goff, in shotgun, took two steps toward the line of scrimmage to point out potential blitzers to his offensive line or call an audible. Perhaps spooked […]

Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys, thankfully, weren’t without their top pass-catcher for long in Week 4. Amari Cooper exited Sunday’s matchup with the Carolina Panthers early due to a hamstring injury, and Dallas subsequently listed him as questionable to return. Fortunately, the veteran wide receiver was back on the field shortly thereafter, apparently no […]

New England Patriots fans aren’t the only ones extremely fired up for Tom Brady’s long-awaited return to Foxborough as starting quarterback of the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Mere hours before kickoff of Sunday’s primetime matchup between the Patriots and Buccaneers—absent Rob Gronkowski, unfortunately—Brady posted another hype video on social media. The first […]

The basketball ideals being instilled in the Portland Trail Blazers by Chauncey Billups were obvious even before his team tipped off training camp earlier this week. At Media Day on September 28, everyone taking the podium for Portland—from Neil Olshey to Billups and Damian Lillard to Cody Zeller—extolled the virtues of accountability, communication and attention […]

Damian Lillard’s pointed calls for the Portland Trail Blazers to make significant roster changes this summer went unanswered. His team enters 2021-22 with last season’s same core in place and an unchanged starting lineup. Portland’s four offseason additions come mostly on the margins, with Larry Nance Jr. the only one among them guaranteed to make […]

The Philadelphia 76ers have taken advantage of an opportunity to further force Ben Simmons’ hand. With over $8 million hanging in the balance, let’s see how the league’s most disgruntled star reacts to the Sixers. A league source told Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer on Friday that October 1 marks the date Philadelphia is scheduled to […]

The NBA reached a 95 percent vaccination rate for COVID-19 on Thursday, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, a notable uptick since training camps tipped off league-wide earlier this week. Draymond Green’s latest comments about the shot being a “personal choice,”  though, thrust the league back to the forefront of the vaccination discussion on Friday morning—even before […]

The Portland Trail Blazers, to a man, have already been invigorated by the relatability, attention to detail and demand for accountability of rookie coach Chauncey Billups and his coaching staff. Damian Lillard has made clear he’s fully committed to the Blazers for now, entering this season more confident than ever that his dreams of winning […]

Anfernee Simons enters 2021-22 coming off a relative breakout season, at least when accounting for the gravity of his struggles over his first two years in the NBA. Fully established as a rotation player with the Portland Trail Blazers now, rookie coach Chauncey Billups is finally affording Simons the opportunity to prove his bona fides […]

There were times last season when Jusuf Nurkic took matters into his own hands defensively for the Portland Trail Blazers. Terry Stotts didn’t outright forbid Nurkic from veering outside Portland’s ultra-conservative defensive scheme, even encouraging his random forays to the perimeter with a simple caveat. “Sometimes Nurk goes rogue,” Stotts said after the Blazers beat […]

Between winning a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, co-starring in a basketball blockbuster, releasing his fourth studio album and getting married to his longtime girlfriend, Damian Lillard didn’t exactly have much downtime during another shortened offseason. Endless speculation about his suddenly uncertain future with the Portland Trail Blazers only made his summer more hectic. […]

Damian Lillard did his best this summer to recruit free agents to the Portland Trail Blazers. He didn’t even have dreams of somehow luring another superstar to Rip City. Lillard instead sought out potential additions that could help his team on the margins, like former Blazer Nicolas Batum and athletic wing Kelly Oubre Jr. But […]

Patrick Mahomes isn’t exactly lacking for top-tier receiver targets. But as the Kansas City Chiefs enter Week 4 losers of two straight games, they could certainly use the jolt of energy provided by a notable midseason addition. Former Pro Bowl wide receiver Josh Gordon passed his physical and signed his contract on Tuesday, per Ian […]

So much for the Detroit Lions finding a trade partner for Jamie Collins. The Lions announced on Tuesday that they’ve released the veteran linebacker, officially ending his tenure in Detroit barely more than a week after he was in the team’s starting lineup. #Lions have released ILB Jamie Collins. — Detroit Lions (@Lions) September 28, […]

Official preparations for the 2021-22 season have finally begun. Unfortunately for the Philadelphia 76ers, though, it seems they’re no closer to finding a resolution regarding Ben Simmons — whether via a long-awaited trade or convincing the three-time All-Star to have a major change of heart. According to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, Philadelphia is nowhere […]

The star-studded Los Angeles Lakers enter 2021-22 as prohibitive favorites in the Western Conference, with as good a chance to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy come June as any team in basketball outside the juggernaut Brooklyn Nets. But just because LeBron James and Anthony Davis are surrounded by notable reinforcements after a disappointing finish to […]

Russell Westbrook is arguably the worst high-volume three-point shooter in NBA history, and hasn’t exactly made sustained efforts in the past to diversify his offensive game when sharing the floor with another high-usage superstar. LeBron James, obviously, is aware of those concerns and others about Westbrook’s fit with the Los Angeles Lakers. He’s just not […]

The Portland Trail Blazers held their first collective media availability in nearly four months on Monday, since an utterly disappointing playoff exit sparked the most dramatic offseason in franchise history. A lot has changed for this team since we last heard from it en masse on June 3. On the eve of training camp in […]

Damian Lillard certainly didn’t seem like a player with any plans on playing elsewhere during Portland Trail Blazers Media Day. In fact, the league’s favorite hypothetical trade centerpiece seemed more comfortable with the notion of continuing his career in Rip City for good than he has in months. Why? Lillard’s newfound confidence he really could […]

Depending on the veracity of several published media reports and countless unsourced rumors, Damian Lillard came close to requesting a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers this summer. But even if the greatest player in franchise history demanded to leave Portland with four years remaining on his contract, it seems clear Neil Olshey would have […]

The most controversial and potentially consequential offseason in Portland Trail Blazers history is over. Media day is finally here, and with it come many unknowns about Portland’s present and future. Here are some of the most pressing questions the Blazers need to answer on Monday as they begin official preparations for the 2021-22 season. Where […]

Trevor Lawrence’s highly anticipated rookie season in the NFL isn’t going much better on Sunday. Adding to the No. 1 overall pick’s considerable early-career woes with the Jacksonville Jaguars is this ugly flea-flicker attempt against the Arizona Cardinals, easily returned for a touchdown by cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. Flea Flicker to PICK-6! And just like […]

Ryan Tannehill and the Tennessee Titans will be forced to rely even more on Derrick Henry in a key divisional matchup if their top wide receiver is unable to return. A.J. Brown left his team’s game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday with a hamstring injury. He’s currently listed as questionable to return to the […]

Sweeping issues plaguing the Indianapolis Colts’ offensive line will only worsen if the best guard in football is sidelined for an extended period. Early in his team’s Week 3 matchup with the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, elite interior lineman Quenton Nelson was carted off the field with an ankle injury. Nelson was initially ruled questionable […]

Deshaun Watson may not play in the NFL at all this season. Just because he’s likely to be sidelined indefinitely as multiple probes into allegations of sexual misconduct against him continue, though, doesn’t mean he won’t be traded from the Houston Texans. FOX’s Jay Glazer reported on Sunday that Houston has recently “softened” its asking […]

Joe Burrow will have to make due without one of his favorite targets when the Cincinnati Bengals meet a fierce AFC North rival on Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium. The Bengals listed wide receiver Tee Higgins as inactive for their Week 3 matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Joining the second-year wide receiver on the sidelines […]

Nassir Little enters his third NBA season with the Portland Trail Blazers subject to relatively low expectations. The 25th overall pick of the 2019 draft played sparingly as a rookie, and barely got off the bench more last season despite making obvious all-around strides and Portland’s departed coach at one point publicly earmarking him regular […]

Chauncey Billups believes what ailed the Portland Trail Blazers most on defense last season was attitude. He’s preached the significance of a team-wide commitment to that side of the ball since being named Terry Stotts’ replacement in late June, even going so far as to insist players who don’t buy into it on a possession-by-possession […]

Damian Lillard has already proven himself as the best player in Portland Trail Blazers history, and the summer-long frenzy induced by his wavering commitment to Rip City is just the latest indication of his exalted standing in the league’s individual hierarchy. Lillard’s an unqualified superstar, basically, the exceedingly rare and valuable caliber of player around […]

Chauncey Billups was Neil Olshey’s top choice as the Portland Trail Blazers’ next head coach even before the job became available. Damian Lillard gave Billups his public seal of approval about 12 hours after Portland parted ways with Terry Stotts. Norman Powell says conversations with Billups played a major part in his decision to re-sign […]

The Philadelphia 76ers are no doubt uncomfortable with the notion of honoring Ben Simmons’ trade demand as he continues to publicly flaunt their irreparably damaged relationship. Daryl Morey wants to win at everything, and placating a player in open breach of a max contract with four years and $147 million on it doesn’t exactly sound […]

The Portland Trail Blazers added another journeyman on Tuesday, signing Quinn Cook to a non-guaranteed contract, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. Free agent guard Quinn Cook is signing a non-guaranteed deal with the Portland Trail Blazers, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. — Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 21, 2021 Though the disclosure of Cook’s deal […]