Blazer basketball is back, and there’s nothing better than immediately overreacting. What’s better than reacting to Chauncey Billups’ FBI indictment for gambling? Arguably, the most dramatic thing that has ever happened during the first week of the NBA season in my lifetime. The morning after a tough opening-night loss to the Timberwolves, Chauncey was arrested for alleged illegal gambling and immediately suspended from the team. Tiago Splitter took over as Head Coach, with Nate Bjorkgren maintaining his role as Head Assistant Coach. Tiago started his NBA career with the San Antonio Spurs, alongside HOFer Tim Duncan, in the post, and after five seasons, bounced to Atlanta for a season and then to Philadelphia for another, where he finished his playing career. He then transitioned to coaching, serving as an assistant with Brooklyn (2019-23) and Houston (2023-24). He then became the Head Coach for Paris Basketball in the LNB Élite (2024-25), before joining Portland this past offseason. It’s too early to gauge how Tiago will do as an HC, but he is getting these guys to play hard and fast. Putting the pedal to the metal against an exhausted Warriors team, even when they were already up late in the 4th quarter, is an excellent sign of what’s to come. Even in the loss to the Clippers, they didn’t phone it in when the game was more or less out of reach — looking forward to NOT reacting just yet and seeing how he’ll lead this team this season.
Game #1 - 10/22 vs Minnesota (118-114 L)
What a bummer of a way to lose your home opener. A game in which Portland led the majority ends with Anthony Edwards coming alive late to seal off a comeback win. Ant did score 41, so it wasn’t as if he had an off night, but we were able to contain the TWolves’ output until our offense lost its way in the last 5:20 of the game. When you make four total shots in Q4 (not including free throws), you aren’t going to win many games. Shaedon, unfortunately, contributed to this, shooting 5/20 from the floor. The positive was that he’s shooting. The negative was not many of them when through the hoop. There are things to be excited about. Jerami Grant looks like he’s accepted his role as the lead of the second unit, scoring 29 points on 10/14 shooting. Maybe I was wrong about him. Perhaps he should stay in Portland as long as he’s accepting of his role: in the starting five or coming off the bench. Deni and Toumani looked to continue their star-studded selves. Clingan looked solid against Rudy Gobert. And, Matisse Thybulle being available and on the floor was much needed. He can get hot offensively, but his pickpocketing ability is game-changing. 0-1 isn’t the end of the world, but a bounce-back win goes a long way.
Game #2 - 10/24 vs Golden State (119-139 W)
Hard to believe what happened between games 1 and 2 of the NBA season for a single team: a frustrating loss against a beatable team, and then your Head Coach gets arrested for illegal gambling. So, going into your second game, with a new Head Coach who joined the team a few months ago, expectations were mixed to say the least. But man, oh man, we looked like a team that cares a lot about finishing a basketball game. Coach/Master Splitter — maybe what we needed? Outside of the last three months of the 2024-25 season, Chauncey did not do much as a coach with a 117-211 record (0.357 win percentage). Enough about Chauncey. Tiago is an absolute stud. Not only did he push a talented Warriors team to the limit, but he also put the nail in the coffin by running up the score late in Q4. We forced 25 turnovers, and Matisse was +26 in 14 minutes. When you have someone doing stuff like that on the defensive end, it’s going to affect the offense positively. We had eight players score double digits, with Deni and Jerami leading the way once again. Still looking for Shaedon to find his groove, but it's game 2 of 82, so there’s a lot of time left for him to find it. But everyone’s favorite rookie, Yang Hansen, got his first bucket, of many, in his long career.
Game #3 - 10/26 @ LA Clippers (107-114 L)
We just couldn’t keep it going down the stretch. The shooting fell off, and the firepower of the Clippers' offense was just too much. But that’s not to say we didn’t give it our all. According to Steph Noh, the Blazers are pressuring the inbounds after a made basket 24% of the time. After three games, we’re 7th in defense. Now this is what we’ve been waiting for! All the things the team has focused on over the last two seasons are finally starting to pay dividends. We’ve forced the most turnovers/game (22.0) and created the most steals/game (11.7). This is an incredible start to the season! Our defense is playing elite, and if Shaedon can start hitting shots, it’s all over for the rest of the NBA. It’s not that he isn’t taking shots. He’s taken 20, 15, and 24 shots in three games. Most on the team by three FGA/game (19.7). He got his extension, so now he needs to play like it. I have faith it’ll happen, but he needs to get into a flow of the game and bury some guys. Honestly, he might need to posterize someone, and then karmically he’ll be fine. Who knows? But it’s early, and the team as a whole looks good. And you have to feel good when your new Head Coach leaves a press conference saying, “I promise you guys this is what we’re going to do every night. We’re going to compete.”
Pinwheel of the Week
The newest section from A Three-Goggled Perspective will feature someone who is being “given their flowers”.
This week’s POW is Blake Wesley. Although he wasn’t Deni or Jerami leading the charge from a scoring perspective, this kid can HUSTLE. Watching him guard Anthony Edwards on Wednesday night, and then online against the Warriors and Clippers, he is giving it 110% anytime he’s on the court. Both Jrue and Coach Splitter commended him after the loss to the Clippers. It’s exciting to see a second-unit player come off the bench with this kind of tenacity, as I haven’t had that in recent memory.
Record: 1-2 (1-2)
Week 2 Games: Mon 10/27 @ LA Lakers, Wed 10/29 @ Utah, Fri 10/31 vs Denver