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LOS ANGELES — Tyronn Lue said that since he’s go a caput manager again, helium doesn’t person arsenic overmuch clip to ticker hoops that isn’t being played by the Clippers.
He did, however, marque definite to carve retired a mates hours to ticker his person and erstwhile adjunct Chauncey Billups marque his coaching debut Wednesday, erstwhile his Portland Trail Blazers mislaid to the Sacramento Kings.
Lue remembers however helium felt his “first five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10 games” arsenic a neophyte caput manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers: “I was nervous.”
He doesn’t get the aforesaid consciousness from Billups, whose decorated 17-season NBA playing vocation included designation arsenic 2004 NBA Finals MVP and arsenic an All-NBA constituent defender 3 times.
After helium retired from playing, Billups worked successful broadcasting (including on Brian Sieman, calling Clippers games connected Fox Sports) until, finally, aft Lue recruited him to articulation the Clippers unit past season, Billups tried connected coaching for the archetypal clip arsenic an assistant.
It went truthful good the Blazers hired him to pb their squad successful June, the time earlier the Clippers’ playoff tally expired successful the Western Conference finals.
“It was good, conscionable seeing him basal implicit there” connected Wednesday, Lue added. “He’s a batch much calm arsenic a manager than helium was arsenic a player, that’s for sure. But conscionable bully to spot him get retired determination and having his archetypal game. He was excited, but he’s besides excited his archetypal crippled was over, truthful present helium plays contiguous and we talked a small spot earlier (Saturday). Just blessed for him, blessed for him to support going and benignant of fig this happening out.”
To beryllium fair, Lue’s unit inactive is figuring retired a batch astir itself, too, arsenic it embarks connected a play without Kawhi Leonard, who is relegated to rooting from the sideline until he’s rehabbed a close torn anterior cruciate ligament.
While the Clippers (0-2) had their hands afloat successful a 120-114 nonaccomplishment to the Memphis Grizzlies successful their location opener connected Saturday night, the Trail Blazers blitzed the Phoenix Suns successful Portland, 134-105, to springiness Billups his archetypal caput coaching triumph successful style: “There were times retired determination erstwhile it looked similar we whitethorn person had six guys connected the floor,” Billups told reporters afterward. “Just beauteous to see.”
After that, Billups wasn’t conscionable cool, helium was acold — the delighted unfortunate of a celebratory ice-water ablution from his players, who, according to reports retired of Portland, besides are large believers successful Billups.
“He astir apt won’t admit it but helium has to beryllium a small nervous. Just doing thing for the archetypal time, it’s ever difficult,” Lue said. “But he’s enactment the enactment in. He’s decidedly ready. He’s lone going to get better. I’m conscionable blessed for him that he’s had a accidental to bash that this year.”
On Monday, Lue volition beryllium gladsome to manus his buddy a nonaccomplishment if it means the Clippers tin debar opening the play 0-3 for the archetypal clip since 2010-11, erstwhile they mislaid their archetypal 4 games and finished the play 32-50.
Having fixed up an mean of 117.5 points successful its archetypal 2 games, L.A. volition person to effort to enactment up its defence against a squad led by Damian Lillard, 1 of the game’s astir dynamic scorers.
Lue besides volition person to fig retired however to steer the Clippers distant from the costly in-game lulls that person fto some of their opponents outpouring free.
Another bid of business: How to springiness Paul George immoderate further enactment — done 2 games, the seven-time All-Star was averaging a league-high 35 points per crippled connected 56.3% shooting to spell with 10.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists an outing.
“Guys are upbeat. It’s pugnacious to suffer those two, but I deliberation we’re confident,” Clippers defender Reggie Jackson said. “We’re going to spell backmost to the drafting board. We person a large coaching unit and I deliberation they’re going to fig it retired and past we person a clump of players with chips connected their shoulders, we’re going to fig things out.”
TRAIL BLAZERS (2-0) astatine CLIPPERS (0-2)
When: Monday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Staples Center
TV: Bally Sports SoCal, NBA TV
"Y'all imposed y'all's will…defense should beryllium fun, it's amusive similar that!"
A wholesome video from Coach Billups archetypal triumph arsenic caput manager pic.twitter.com/c5hPdkI3ZU
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) October 24, 2021
English (US) ·