The Portland Trail Blazers won a 105-103 thriller over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night in a game that will be known throughout Blazers lore as “the ice storm game.”
With a crowd so sparse that fans were moved down into the lower bowl, and center Deandre Ayton unable to get to the arena due to the city's conditions, guard Anfernee Simons hit the game-winning floater with 0.2 seconds left.
But Simons never would have had that chance if the Blazers hadn't held a rare 24-23 first quarter lead. Portland has gotten off to some truly awful starts this season, seemingly forced to try to come back from 15 points down or more every night. Blazers coach Chauncey Billups had that thought in mind when he made a change to the starting lineup on Wednesday night – pulling rookies Scoot Henderson and Toumani Camara in exchange for Malcom Brogdon and Jabari Walker.
Blazers: Chauncey Billups explains the decision
Said Billups on the decision, “We just needed a change, man. Obviously, I think Scoot and Tou have been playing well but we just haven't gotten off to really good starts. And most times the start won't really get you beat in games. For us it has been. It's put us in such a deficit. I just felt like both guys, at the start of games, be playing with a little too much pressure as opposed to being relaxed. So, I made the decision with two games left on the trip. I just wanted to wait until I got back.”
Billups said the idea was for Shaedon Sharpe to start in place of Henderson, but the abdominal strain that will keep him out for at least the next two week threw a wrench in that plan.
“Obviously, it was going to be Shae [Sharpe] instead of Malcolm [Brogdon]. Obviously, Shae gets hurt in that game, couldn't move him. And then Jabari [Walker], you know, he just gives us so much with rebounding and things. So, we just needed something different to look at.”
Of course, getting Brogdon extensive minutes while he's the subject of reported trade interest from various teams is a nice side-effect of the decision. He can be a steady hand for the Blazers in Sharpe's absence and increase his potential trade value at the same time.
Up next for the Blazers – Portland hosts the Indiana Pacers on Friday night. No word yet if Pascal Siakam will be available in that game.
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