Changsi Billups, after a frustrating defeat, left his harshest criticism to the Trail Blazers' starters early in the season. Portland's only bright spot in Sunday's 145-117 loss to the understaffed Boston Celtics was a particularly bad development as Billups' side were missing three rotations.
Larry Nance as center, Nasir Little as big forward, and one or two of their star guards, weren't the streamlined lineups we're familiar with today, helping the Blazers stay on hold after another painful and slow start — no matter how short. The five-man duo of Dennis Smith Jr., Ben McLemore, Tony Snell, Nance and Cody Zeller provided much-needed energy and intensity against Boston, beating the Blazers' opening five.
Billups was very gentle in his first six weeks as head coach, and after watching the Trail Blazers' reserve players struggle to keep the team competitive, he couldn't help but express his frustration in the locker room at halftime.
"We've got the habit of playing soft at the start of the game and we rely on our bench to get us back. A lot of times that's the case," he said on the podium after the game. "Even at half-time, I just said to them, 'I've never seen a team need our bench to motivate the starters, it's crazy for me.'" It should be the other way around. ”
Lillard missed the game on Sunday, and the Blazers' starter barely responded to Billups' challenge in the third quarter. The Celtics had the upper hand after halftime, and their pace, strength and continuity left the Blazers' core players seemingly uninterested. The Trail Blazers trailed by six points at halftime and were 19 points behind in the fourth quarter, but that didn't stop their bench players from still showing pride and nervousness when the game was still tough.
With less than six minutes left in the game, the Blazers dropped the white flag to bring in depth substitutes C.J. Erby, Greg Brown III, Trenton Watford and Kelkin Blevins. Even the extension of the garbage time ultimately shows the growing woes of this team. Peyton Pritchard, from Rip City, scored 16 of the Celtics' all-of-18 points in the final three minutes of the game, and his shot was impressive, with the Celtics bench being awarded a technical foul as he cheered.
Billups, an NBA lifelong player, made no secret of his displeasure with Boston's appearance before the Blazers in a meaningless game that had long since been decided. What really irritated him wasn't the overly enthusiastic antics of the Celtics or the reactive reaction of Portland's young players. Once again, Billups left his sharpest anger to his starter.
"I'm not worried about them," he said of Elbi, Brown and other players. "What I'm more worried about and angry about is that the starter puts them in that situation. So really, it's a starting player's problem, not a young man's problem. ”
It's hard to imagine the Trail Blazers falling from here to a new low. They have gone two straight home games without Lillard and Little, and after Saturday's game opened, their hopes of rejuvenation were dashed immediately with the departure of Neil Olch.
Lillard will miss at least the Trail Blazers' next two games, against the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors, with Little and Anfernie Simmons unclear. Even if C.J. McCollum leaves the Celtics game early with a minor rib injury, it could be limited or pulled on the sidelines altogether in the near future. Regardless of who plays in Monday's game, Billups has a responsibility to adjust the lineup after Portland finally recovers to health.
In the 2021-22 lead, the all-field starting five, supported by Olhi, Billups and other players, had a net score of +1.6 this season, ranking only 33rd in the league's high playing time lineup. According to NBA data, the Trail Blazers had a net score of 5.8 in the first quarter of the season, ranking 25th overall. In the evenly matched game, Little essentially occupied a key position in Covington, and Billups was clearly not opposed to having Nance as a centre forward – whatever the impact on Nurkic's spirit.
In a perfectly healthy vacuum, it would be shocking if the Blazers didn't make any changes to the lineup or rotation. But the lack of multiple influential players is another obstacle for them to turn this off-track season. It's like a full squad is necessary to get the team back on track, so Billups can't make some changes until all his stable players are in place.
Little is expected to take over his starting spot when Covington is fit enough. Nurkic has been one of the Blazers' most valuable defenders of the season so far, but his substandard interior performance and erratic overall performance shouldn't guarantee his status as a starter, the data shows. The most drastic action Billups had to make was to pull McCollum off the bench, which of course could not have been achieved with Olhi still alive.
Each expected change will bring some of the same challenges that afflict the Trailblazers' current structure. Aside from Little, they don't have a wing on their bench that's close to starting level. If Nance replaces Nurkic as center in the opening game, these scale problems will be further exacerbated. Would starting both Little and Simmons deprive portland's reserves of their motivation to succeed — energy and athleticism?
The specter of more enduring personnel reform is also here. If Covington, Nurkic and McCollum are placed on the bench, their value will not fall as a result. On the other hand, the physical and mental struggles of this team are so common that making such a clear statement may be worth the overall negative consequences.
Portland needs some quick measures. No lineup change would have left this team suddenly in the top four in the West, let alone a chance to win a championship. But even in the midst of constant organizational chaos, it's not too late for the Blazers to save their season with a ninth consecutive playoff spot — at least on paper. It now appears that unless Billups breaks the Blazers' rotation status quo, their winning streak will come to an end.