Chauncey Billups' first season as the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers was mired with a plethora of problems that put a damper on their 2021-22 season. Damian Lillard battled abdominal issues all season long before getting shut down following abdominal surgery, CJ McCollum was diagnosed with a collapsed lung before he was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans, and the Blazers were just unable to overcome all of those issues, finishing with a dreadful 27-55 record.
But if their strong start to the 2022-23 season is any indication, perhaps the Blazers are ready to return to the postseason party after a down year.
After a 135-110 victory over the Denver Nuggets that pushed the Blazers to a 4-0 start, the best in the Western Conference, Chauncey Billups couldn't help but shower his players with praise, especially after a stretch that includes close wins over the Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, and Los Angeles Lakers.
“You can always see when a unit is really connected. Fighting for each other, scrapping for each other. I feel like the most connected teams have the most success. … Right now we're in a really good place,” Billups said, per Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report.
The 46-year old head coach and former champion with the 2004 Detroit Pistons envisioned, from his first day on the job, that his Blazers were capable of playing in such a coordinated manner, the way they have thus far in grinding out tough victories over teams with playoff ambitions.
“You guys have heard me from the very first day I took the job talking about how the game should be played. … This is what we would all like for it to look like and feel like,” Billups added.
Nevertheless, Chauncey Billups knows better than to allow the Blazers to rest on their laurels. There is still room to grow for them in terms of taking care of the basketball, but Billups asserts that his team must continue to be aggressive in getting everybody involved on both ends of the floor without fear of making any mistakes.
“Careless turnovers are what I really want to cut down on. The turnovers where you're trying to make an extra pass and they deflect it, I'm OK with those,” Billups said.
The Blazers' early season test will continue when they host the 1-3 Miami Heat on Wednesday night. With Damian Lillard on a tear and Anfernee Simons waking up with a third quarter barrage against the Nuggets, the Blazers appear as capable a team as any of building on what has been an incredible start.
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