Turnaround after coaching scandal? Split s arrival may be a glimmer of hope for the Trail Blazers this season

Translator's Note: The original article was published in "The Oregonian". The data in the article are as of the time of publication of the original article (October 25th, local time), and the dates and times involved are all local times.

Before Tiago Splitter stepped onto the court for the first time as an NBA head coach, a reporter tried to get him to share his thoughts on the gambling scandal-it was the scandal that unexpectedly pushed him to the position of interim coach of the Trail Blazers.

After all, Split played in the NBA for 8 years. He won a championship with the Spurs in 2014. Although he is only 40 years old, he is considered a veteran in the league, especially among the young Trail Blazers.

What does he think this week’s revelations and federal indictments mean for the league?

He squinted his eyes and thought about his answer.

"I hope," said the Brazilian, "that you don't talk about that. You're making it difficult for me."

Split indeed found himself in a difficult, almost desperate situation.

How can anyone be expected to handle this unprecedented situation with ease?

Chauncy Billups was indicted Thursday on federal wire fraud and money laundering charges and was named a co-conspirator in the league's betting scandal. After this, Split was promoted to interim coach. On Friday night, Splitter became the first member of the Trail Blazers organization to speak out publicly on this critical issue.

"We all had a great experience with Chauncey and admired the way he coached, and our thoughts are with him and his family," Splitter said, "But we have a job to do. We have a job to do and we have to move forward."

There is almost no precedent in history for Splitter to become the head coach of the Trail Blazers in this way.

His predecessor was not fired, resigned, died or became ill. He was arraigned in federal court in handcuffs as part of an incident involving the NBA and organized crime.

The team will hand over the task of helping this promising but young lineup survive this impact to Split, whose only previous head coaching experience was coaching the Paris Basketball Club in the French League last year.

If the small sample size is to be believed, Splitter's takeover may be a silver lining in this whole sordid situation.

On Friday night, in their debut in Split, the Trail Blazers defeated the Warriors 139-119 and withstood the impact of Stephen Curry's 35 points. Yes, the Warriors are older and playing the second game of a back-to-back.

But Friday's game felt like a cultural victory for the Blazers, a statement of intent that will be crucial going forward.

The iconic features of Billups' system were on full display. The Trail Blazers forced 25 turnovers (13 of which came from steals) and scored almost twice as many fast-break points as the Warriors.

"This will be the hallmark of this team, and I won't change it," Splitter said. "I was also involved in the construction process of all this, and we have spent two months or more to establish our team style and how to play this season."

In the absence of Billups, the system architect, is Splitter worthy of praise for continuing this style of play? The answer to that question will become clearer in the coming weeks and months as leadership transitions from Billups to Splitter.

But Split passed his first test amazingly.

He is calm and direct in his public comments. Due to the legal implications of the incident, team executives were placed under a gag order, leaving the interim coach as the first person on the team to respond to the matter, which is far from an ideal situation.

The team shrugged off the distractions brought about by the biggest news in basketball and one of the biggest news events in the United States to play a complete and exciting game, with 8 players scoring in double figures.

Despite being in an unfamiliar situation, Split remained impressively calm on the sidelines.

"He definitely has a sense of maturity about him," Trail Blazers guard Jrue Holiday said, "and he has a demeanor that keeps us calm. I think the way he carries himself is very calm. So when he speaks, we all have confidence in him and listen."

The players seemed to accept Splitter quickly.

After Split won his first coaching career victory, the players poured water on him to celebrate. And players joked that they played hard for Splitter because he promised to give them a day off if they beat the Warriors.

"He understands the players," Deni Avdija said. "He understands basketball at the highest level."

Before joining the Trail Blazers last summer, Splitter was a popular assistant coach candidate. But he is not on any head coaching candidate lists this season.

Special circumstances gave him an excellent opportunity.

Can he turn his temporary status of "acting coach" into a regular one?

However, it is too early to talk about this now. But Friday night's victory over the Warriors in Game 2 of the season was a solid testament to the effectiveness of the system Billups and the Blazers put in place over the summer, and Splitter's ability to follow through.

Adversity always brings the team together. Right now, the Trail Blazers are experiencing a unique situation in NBA history: Splitter suddenly became their leader.

The Warriors defeated the Lakers and Nuggets at the beginning of the season, while the Trail Blazers defeated the Warriors.

If there are a few more games like this, the Trail Blazers will join the fierce competition for a playoff spot.

This is really an unexpected situation.

Author: Bill Oram

Translator: GWayNe