Chauncey Billups Articles - Page 4

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 […]

Damian Lillard proved his commitment to the Portland Trail Blazers with a two-year max extension this past offseason. However, the Rip City faithful may have head coach Chauncey Billups to thank for convincing Dame to stay. The veteran guard had options for his future. He had a chance to join the Los Angeles Lakers before […]

One of the biggest what-ifs in the history of the NBA revolves around the Detroit Pistons passing on Carmelo Anthony at the No. 2 spot in the 2003 NBA Draft. Detroit chose 7-foot center Darko Milicic, and Melo fell to No. 3 with the Denver Nuggets — a shocking development that sent shockwaves throughout the […]

The Detroit Pistons shocked the basketball world during the 2003 NBA Draft when they decided to pass on Carmelo Anthony as the No. 2 overall pick in favor of 7-foot center Darko Milicic. This remains to be one of the most questionable decisions in the history of the draft, especially considering how Milicic ended up […]

A lot of people have been giving Darvin Ham his flowers after the 48-year-old was announced as the new head coach for the Los Angeles Lakers. Lining up to sing Ham’s praises is Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups. Billups was teammates with Ham with the Detroit Pistons where they won a title in […]

Damian Lillard’s pointed demands for an improved supporting cast have still yet to be addressed. It has been almost a year since the most loyal superstar in basketball threatened to leave Rip City, and all the Portland Trail Blazers have to show for it is the mere possibility of finally meeting his mandate. CJ McCollum […]

The Portland Trail Blazers lost for the eighth time in their last nine games on Wednesday, getting blown out 128-98 by the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Another 30-point defeat marks the seventh such loss of that stretch, one defined by the organization’s overarching efforts to tank—and most manifested on the floor through […]

Anfernee Simons’ may have already played his last game in 2021-22. The Portland Trail Blazers announced last Friday that he’d be “re-evaluated in 1-2 weeks” after an MRI confirmed a prior diagnosis of mild patellar tendinopathy in his left knee, but the organization’s brazen efforts to tank suggest Simons is likelier to take the floor […]

The Portland Trail Blazers’ utmost organizational priority from now until the end of the regular season definitely isn’t winning. You wouldn’t have known it watching Josh Hart and the “baby” Blazers go punch-for-punch with a team that made the Eastern Conference Finals last season, though. Portland fell to the Atlanta Hawks 122-113 on Monday night […]

The last time Anfernee Simons took the floor was the last time the Portland Trail Blazers actually looked like they belong in the NBA. That’s not a criticism of the second-round picks, undrafted free agents and G-League call-ups who have comprised Portland’s woefully depleted roster over the last few days, or even an aspersion on […]

The Portland Trail Blazers didn’t just enter Wednesday’s action as losers of five straight, engaging in tank mode no holds barred. Their aggregate deficit dating back to the All-Star break was the largest of all time over any team’s five-game stretch since the league’s inception. Let’s just say no one was surprised when Portland kept […]

Officially, the Portland Trail Blazers are still leaving the door open for Damian Lillard to return before season’s end. The team announced late last month that Lillard had passed the “initial phase” of rehabilitation from mid-January surgery on his abdomen, and would soon begin the “reconditioning phase” of his recovery. The first week of March […]

The Portland Trail Blazers entered their two-game set with the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center one-and-a-half games back of the final spot in the Western Conference play-in tournament. Portland would be underdogs no matter what with Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic sidelined, but at least Minnesota’s absences—Anthony Edwards and Patrick Beverly missed Saturday’s game—ensured it […]

No one expected the Portland Trail Blazers to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves. They’ve been awful offensively with Anfernee Simons off the floor since the New Year, and Portland’s latest star shot-maker joined Damian Lillard, Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little and Justise Winslow on the sidelines Monday night with a left quad contusion. Considering the impressive fight […]

The Portland Trail Blazers finally ran out of gas in the fourth quarter on Saturday night, falling to Karl-Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves 135-121. Don’t mistake another double-digit loss, Portland’s fourth straight, for any of its more lopsided predecessors, though. Not only did the Blazers put up a hard road fight against a quality […]

Chris Paul is out at least another month with a broken right thumb, and Devin Booker entered health and safety protocols hours before tipoff. Even with their opponent absent both members of basketball’s best backcourt, though, the depleted, rebuilding Portland Trail Blazers were still sent to a third straight blowout loss. The Phoenix Suns routed […]

Nikola Jokic only played 26 minutes against the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday night. The streaking Denver Nuggets, now winners of six straight games, didn’t need him in the fourth quarter of their 124-92 victory. But if some late-game heroics were required from the reigning MVP, it’s safe to say Chauncey Billups believes his depleted […]

The Portland Trail Blazers led 32-31 after the first quarter of Thursday’s game, putting up an early fight against the Golden State Warriors despite all odds and expectations otherwise. Once Chauncey Billups was forced to go to his bench, though, the realities of an outwardly tanking team facing off against a surefire title contender quickly […]

So much for consternation over a wholly transformative trade deadline. Instead of reeling from finally breaking up its longtime core, the Portland Trail Blazers entered the All-Star break winners of four straight games, playing with activity and intensity that had often been absent during Chauncey Billups’ inaugural season on the sidelines. The Blazers can’t count […]

The Portland Trail Blazers finally tore it down at the trade deadline, sending out C.J. McCollum and three other impact veterans in a series of moves that placed the organization’s focus firmly on next season. Don’t tell that to Chauncey Billups and his team’s new-look locker room, though. Rejuvenated by the additive presence of Josh […]

Jusuf Nurkic, Anfernee Simons and the new-look Portland Trail Blazers have definitely earned a week-long vacation. Portland will embark on the All-Star break as perhaps the hottest team in basketball, winners of four straight games after taking down the Memphis Grizzlies in a hard-fought, highly entertaining 123-119 victory on Wednesday at FedEx Forum. Memphis entered […]

Anfernee Simons dropped 30-plus points for the third straight game on Monday, the longest streak of his burgeoning career, leading the new-look Portland Trail Blazers to a blowout road victory over the defending-champion Milwaukee Bucks. He made NBA history, too, hitting seven triples against Milwaukee to set a new record for the most made threes […]

Winning isn’t exactly the top organizational priority in Rip City after a truly transformational trade deadline. Nobody seems to have told Anfernee Simons, Josh Hart, Jusuf Nurkic and the re-invigorated Portland Trail Blazers, though. Portland routed the Milwaukee Bucks 122-107 on Monday at Fiserv Forum, winning its third straight game since overhauling the roster last […]

Josh Hart had barely been in Portland for more than 24 hours when he took the floor at Moda Center on Saturday noon. Just after his standout debut with the Portland Trail Blazers, though, it’s more than safe to say Rip City is just as excited about Hart’s new future as he is. Invigorated by […]

It’s barely been more than 48 hours since the Portland Trail Blazers broke up the most successful, productive backcourt in franchise history. After his sorely depleted team’s stirring win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night, though, Chauncey Billups implored fans in Rip City to dream of new possibilities awaiting the Blazers with a […]

LeBron James and Anthony Davis didn’t exactly bring it, and several players who were pivotal for the Portland Trail Blazers almost certainly won’t be on the roster when this team is really trying to win. Don’t dismiss the long-term significance of Portland’s stirring 107-105 win over the sinking Los Angeles Lakers despite the unique circumstances […]

The Portland Trail Blazers lost their sixth straight game on Tuesday night, falling to the Orlando Magic 113-95. Another defeat pushes Portland to 21-34 on the season and 11th in the Western Conference, at real risk of tumbling even further down the standings with the San Antonio Spurs and Sacramento Kings nipping at their heels. […]

The Portland Trail Blazers’ primary goal in Friday’s shocking trade with the LA Clippers was saving money. They not only ducked below the luxury tax this season, making the franchise and billionaire owner Jody Allen subject to the most lucrative distribution of tax penalties in league history, but also shaved considerable money off their books […]

The Portland Trail Blazers welcomed the Oklahoma City Thunder to Moda Center on Friday night, but his team’s chances of avenging a blowout loss only four days earlier wasn’t the focus of Chauncey Billups’ pregame presser. Instead, the rookie head coach shed some much-needed light on Portland’s stunning trade that sent Norman Powell and Robert […]

The Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers both took the floor on Wednesday night without franchise-defining superstars. What proved the biggest difference in the Blazers’ third straight loss? Los Angeles has another one. Portland fell to the Lakers 99-94 at Crypto.com Arena, missing Damian Lillard more than ever with its starting backcourt struggling from […]

The Portland Trail Blazers brought the early energy they needed to make up for a massive rest deficit against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Once the jumpers stopped falling and the clock started winding, though, they looked every bit a depleted, veteran team playing a much younger, fresher foe on the back half of a road […]

Anfernee Simons’ breakout isn’t over, C.J. McCollum picked up right where he left off after six weeks on the sideline and Jusuf Nurkic has taken advantage of his increased role as a scorer. But the Portland Trail Blazers entered Sunday’s tilt with the Chicago Bulls at a surprising 8-6 in January not due to significant […]

The Portland Trail Blazers used isolation basketball to pull away from the worst team in the Western Conference on Friday night. After the Houston Rockets suddenly pulled within six as the game clocked ticked below five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, C.J. McCollum and Anfernee Simons mercilessly matchup-hunted for Garrison Mathews in pick-and-roll, clearing […]

Chauncey Billups called timeout with 5:29 remaining in Friday’s game, his team at real risk of squandering what seemed like an insurmountable lead after Jalen Green’s step-back three pulled the Houston Rockets within six. The Portland Trail Blazers hadn’t encountered much trouble running roughshod over the Western Conference’s worst team, but some ugly turnovers and […]

Both the Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail Blazers entered Wednesday’s game barely 24 hours removed from a loss. Only one of them, though, showed the inevitable ill-effects of taking the floor for the second time in as many nights. A thoroughly depleted roster didn’t help Portland, either. The fatigued and overmatched Blazers fell to the […]

The Portland Trail Blazers fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves 109-107 on Tuesday night, their crunch-time rally spoiled by D’Angelo Russell’s tie-breaking layup past Anfernee Simons with 2.9 seconds remaining. Simons had the chance to send his team to a walk-off win on the game’s next possession, but his tough chance from three caromed off the […]

The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Toronto Raptors 114-105 at Scotiabank Arena on Sunday, closing out a long, arduous road trip by building a 30-point lead and almost squandering it before the final buzzer. The victory moves the Blazers 20-26 on the season, including a stunning 4-2 since they last took the floor in Rip […]

The Portland Trail Blazers earned one of their most impressive wins of the regular season on Friday, beating the Boston Celtics 109-105 at TD Garden. The win is Portland’s fourth in six games, all of which have come without Damian Lillard. Anfernee Simons continued staking his claim as one of basketball’s most intriguing young guards, […]

C.J. McCollum poured in 20 first-half points against the Miami Heat on Wednesday, knocking down tough jumpers from all over the floor en route to 8-of-11 shooting and 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. His performance was a ringing endorsement of not just McCollum’s conditioning after spending six weeks on the sideline, but just how dangerous […]