Portland Trail Blazers interim head coach Tiago Splitter has made the most out of the unique opportunity he was handed when former head coach Chauncey Billups was arrested in part of a shocking series of gambling-related charges made by the FBI.
The Trail Blazers are 6-6 on the season and with forward Deni Avdija showing signs of becoming a star player, have plenty to be happy about through the early weeks of the season.
Splitter’s success as a head coach isn’t a surprise to Rockets center Alperen Sengun — who had 25 points, 9 assists and 10 rebounds in the Rockets’ 140-116 drubbing of the Trail Blazers on Friday night.
Splitter worked closely with Alperen in his time with the Rockets in 2023.
“He taught me a lot,” Sengun said before Friday night’s game. “He’s like a brother. I had a brother-ship with him.”
Splitter helped Sengun develop a key part of his game, helping him set what at the time represented career highs in points, rebounds and assists per game in the 2023-24 season.
“I worked my left hand a lot with him,” Sengun said. “Some days, we’d just work on the left hand, no right. I used to not go left that much. But now I can go both hands. Mentally, I would say he helped me a lot. Sometimes, we’d be playing Joel Embiid or [Nikola] Jokić, and I’d say ‘We’re playing against a tough big tonight, I need to lock in.’ And he’d say, ‘They need to lock in to guard you.’ Mentally, making me ready for the games, he was huge for me.”
Splitter logged a season abroad, as the head coach of Paris Basketball in the top French league LNB Elite. During that time, Sengun kept up with his former coach, who he said has always set his sights on having a head coaching role in the NBA.
Splitter ‘Always Wanted to be a Head Coch’
“He did a really good job in EuroLeague with that team,” Sengun said. “But he always wanted to be a head coach [in the NBA]. He would say that. He was hungry for that, when he was here. He had a different journey, going to Europe and then coming [to Portland] and everything went his way. The team is playing really good.”
Splitter has an opportunity this season to achieve that goal and knock the interim tag off of his title. Leading the Trail Blazers to their first playoff berth since the 2020-21 season would be a resumé booster for a coach eager to prove himself.
Splitter has a long way to go before any thoughts of becoming Portland’s head coach can be solidified. If the season were to end today, the Trail Blazers would be a play-in game away from securing a postseason spot. Friday night’s loss to the Rockets certainly didn’t help.
Splitter and the Trail Blazers will have the chance to move past the loss and continue their climb up the Western Conference standings with a road game against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.
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