TUALATIN — After three weeks of training camp and four exhibition games, Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups has finally settled on a starting lineup for opening night.
The Blazers will open with Jrue Holiday, Shaedon Sharpe, Deni Avdija, Toumani Camara and Donovan Clingan on Wednesday, when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves at 7 p.m. at the Moda Center.
Billups said his decision was not easy — and it’s not set in stone for the rest of the season — but after evaluating his team over the last three weeks, he reached a decision this week.
“I like that these guys already have some synergy,” Billups said. “They’ve played together quite a bit. They’re starting to really, really get to know each. They all have their thing that they’re so good at, if that makes sense … they kind of balance each other out. We have some downhill drivers in the group, which kind of fuels our offense, you’ve got shooting there. You got a lot of things there
“But it could have went a different way and I still would be just as confident and feel just as good about it.”
Indeed, Billups said, he believes he has seven starters on his roster: Jerami Grant and Scoot Henderson, in addition to the starting five he selected. Billups has noted multiple times that this is the first time in five seasons as coach of the Blazers that’s he’s had to oversee such a fierce battle.
But when Henderson suffered a torn left hamstring the week before training camp opened, it trimmed a seven-man competition to six, which left Sharpe and Grant to compete for a spot at shooting guard.
In the end, Sharpe — who led the Blazers in scoring (19.3 points per game) during the preseason and drew rave reviews for his defensive growth — edged out his veteran teammate just days after signing a lucrative contract extension.
“For the first year, I had some really, really tough decisions to make,” Billups said. “And I like that. They came in and did great. Jerami was incredible in camp, along with the other guys. I just feel like right now this is kind of how we need to go, how we need to start. And who ends the game, I’m not sure. This is just how it is. The NBA is tough. It’s a very competitive situation, but this is where we at.”
The competition has been a hot topic all month, which was only exacerbated at media day when the two players revealed drastically different tones regarding the subject. While Sharpe said he carried no expectations and that starting didn’t “really matter to me,” Grant said he “didn’t really expect” to come off the bench, dismissing any notion he wouldn’t start.
Grant clarified his comments in training camp, saying he was “open to competing.” But this will mark the first time the veteran has come off the bench since the 2019-20 season, when he played for the Denver Nuggets in the NBA bubble at the height of COVID-19.
How did Grant take the news?
“He’s a vet, man,” Billups said. “He’s a professional. Of course, nobody wants that. He’s been starter in this league for a long time. And, again, I still consider him to be that. He had a good camp. He came to play. So, obviously, I’m sure he’s not happy with it. But him and I have a really healthy relationship where we can keep it honest with one another. And Jerami’s just a pro. He’s a pro’s pro. So he’s fine.”
As for the rest of the lineup, Billups reiterated that he intends to feature a 10-man rotation to start the season. It will be a break from the nine-man group he has traditionally used, but a necessity for a team that will play a breakneck pace that includes full-court pressure on defense, a push-the-pace style on offense and lots of movement.
Beyond Grant, it’s unclear who will comprise the second unit. But rookie Yang Hansen seems a lock to play backup center and Blake Wesley appears to have won a backup role after a strong training camp. Also, forward Matisse Thybulle — who missed most of camp nursing a sore right knee — recently returned to all portions of practice and Billups said there’s a chance Thybulle could play opening night.
Either way, expect to see a wealth of Blazers this season.
“The way that we play, we’ve got to play more people,” Billups said. “Because we’re going to be playing so fast. Hopefully we’re going to be picking up pressure and our guys are going to get tired. And let’s be honest, nobody is their normal self when they’re really tired.”
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