The NBA regular season continued, with the Blazers heading on the road to Philadelphia. As far as the Blazers' performance in the opening stages was concerned, they did not show their true strength. The game against Philadelphia was crucial, after all, the opponent big center Embiid did not play, and the Blazers still returned home and did not win the game. Play with a four-guard lineup! Tyrone Lu hadn't taught, than the handsome played like this, really want to force Lillard away?
In this game, Billups sent a starting lineup of Powell + Covington + Nurkic + CJ + Lillard, which basically continued the strategy of the Stotts era. The Blazers were a full-fledged lineup, and as a result, they didn't take advantage of the game against Philadelphia. Even when extended to the full game, the Trail Blazers have always been in the role of a catcher. For a team with a complete squad, there must be something wrong, from the players to the manager level.
Lillard, as the team's main player, continued the previous bad shooting feel in this game, shooting only 7 goals in 20 shots, and only 2-of-9 outside the three-point line. When Lillard can't play his original form, the team's attack is difficult. It looks like Lillard has 10 assists in the book, but not enough to support the team. The Blazers still want Lillard to score, and can't let him appear in the lineup as a Paul-like role, after all, the Blazers are the focus of this team in the backcourt.
In addition to Lillard, CJ's feel is equally poor, hitting just eight of his 20 shots. Nurkic, who played like a pure blue collar in this game, and was teased by opponent Drummond, achieved the opponent's best performance of the season. As for the other role players, only Powell played normally, scoring 22 points, but he alone could not fill the big hole. Similarly, the Blazers bench lacked firepower, and the rotation stage was exploded by the opponent and did not take advantage.
If you lose this game, Bilups is also responsible. In the game, we even saw a strange scene, that is, Billups put Lillard + Simmons + Powell + CJ in the four-back lineup. Such a lineup is deformed, and the outside line can be said to have no defensive ability. Billups sent a four-back line-up to strengthen the attack in this way, and it turned out to be a four-not-like. Billups studied under Tyronelu, who was a master tactician but never taught to play in a four-back formation.
In fact, sometimes it has to be said that good players do not necessarily become good coaches after retiring. Billups, like Nash, was a human being when he played, and the team didn't say anything. Unfortunately, after becoming a coach, the team fell into a strange circle. Billups wants Lillard to be himself, and don't forget that Lillard is the scorer, not an organized defender like Billups. Lillard had played for so many years that Billups could not have made him forget his previous moves.
After the Blazers lost to Philadelphia, the winning percentage fell below 50%, and the first seven games were only 3 wins and 4 losses. Billups wanted to overturn his previous style of play and brand himself, but that's how the squad structure was. If it continues like this, Billups may be the last straw to force Lillard to leave the team. Lillard himself has been grinding foreign workers this season, and Billups has not let Lillard play comfortably.
The Blazers had a lot of problems, and they could have eaten the dividends of a stable lineup, but they didn't do that. Let's see if there are any changes in the later period, and now the pioneers are at a crossroads.