Fans all around the NBA know the feeling when their team's coach is arrested by the FBI for their role in an illegal gambling ring so an assistant must immediately presume the role of acting head coach.
Okay, in fact, most fans don't know that feeling. But Trail Blazers fans do, as it happened to them just a few months ago, leaving Tiago Splitter to run the team for the foreseeable future. At first, it was a bit clunky. Splitter's rotations and lineup decisions left a lot to be desired, the Blazers looked outcoached most nights, and the team was six games under .500 heading into the new year.
Now, over halfway through the season, the Blazers are ripping off win after win, have somehow cleared .500, and are charging toward the Warriors for the No. 8 seed in the West.
The wins are coming. The questionable rotations and late-game management also remain, but the Blazers are the hottest team in the NBA right now. Who cares how they got here?
Now the front office has a big decision to make. Has Tiago Splitter earned the full-time coaching job, or will the Blazers thank him for his service and look elsewhere for a new head honcho?
Tiago Splitter is winning games, but questions linger
It's always important to remember that a first-year head coach is as much a rookie as a first-year player is. And just as players have to figure out the NBA as they go, so do coaches. Splitter isn't particularly refined as a decision-maker yet, but the on-court results are the most important metric to judge a coach on, and the Blazers are winning games. That means something!
Barring a complete collapse in the second half of the year, I cast my (fake) vote for Splitter being named head coach of this team after this year. Granted, I have no idea what would happen if Billups is absolved of any crime and returns to the Blazers — but I really don't see that happening anytime soon.
Splitter has a lot to work on. But he didn't expect to be a head coach in 2025-26, and he's been about as good as anyone could hope, given the circumstances. The team clearly cares about playing hard for him. Winning over the locker room so quickly is no small feat.
In September, if someone told you the Blazers would be above .500 near the end of January with Caleb Love playing real minutes, Sidy Cissoko starting almost half the team's games, and Jrue Holiday missing over half the season, you'd think someone was working miracles in PDX. And in a way, Splitter kind of is.