Tiago Splitter's first season is tough to evaluate. On one hand, this Portland Trail Blazers team exceeded expectations, finishing above .500 despite entering the year with a 33.5 win total projection. That's in addition to the other variables Splitter had to deal with, including Portland's injuries and being thrown into the fire with the messy Chauncey Billups situation.
This young team easily could've crumbled, yet it was Splitter's leadership that kept them afloat. Not only that, Splitter legitimately got the most out of several players who had career seasons in Portland: Deni Avdija, Shaedon Sharpe, Donovan Clingan, and Scoot Henderson all took notable leaps.
The Blazers are seriously considering retaining him next season, and he's certainly made a compelling case to stick around, primarily because he's proven to be a players' coach.
Tiago Splitter had an imperfect yet successful season in Portland
On the other hand, there were serious growing pains that Portland had to endure with Splitter still finding his footing. Portland's elite individual weapons didn't translate to an elite team defense as they had hoped. They finished middle of the pack in terms of defensive rating on the season.
He struggled to innovate on the offensive end as well. Portland ranked dead last in ATO scoring by a wide margin. And after their playoff series, Victor Wembanyama said he was "excited to play against teams that will challenge more of the tactical, technical basketball aspect," adding that Portland was "pretty straightforward."
The fact that Splitter got Portland to the postseason is impressive. His flaws were on display in the series itself. They frustratingly blew 15+ leads in consecutive games against the San Antonio Spurs, after which Splitter admitted the team "mentally broke down." That's not exactly what you want to hear after a playoff collapse, which highlights Splitter's inexperience in these situations.
Then, there's the issue of conflicting playstyle and roster selection. The Blazers have consistently ranked near the bottom of the league in three-point efficiency throughout their entire rebuild. Yet they finished the season third in three-point attempts per game. Not the ideal recipe for offensive success.
Good coaches are able to adjust their schemes to maximize the strengths and mask the weaknesses of the rosters they are working with. Overall, Splitter's lack of adjustments, both in terms of substitutions, rotations, and schematically, was a recurring issue.
But like players, coaches too need time to endure growing pains and develop.
Ultimately, whether Portland retains Splitter could depend on their short- and long-term timeline, goals, and expectations. GM Joe Cronin has emphasized a patient approach throughout this rebuild, but that could conflict with incoming owner Tom Dundon, who seems to have more immediate expectations to win at a high level.
Splitter has made a strong enough case to continue to grow with this roster, with the foundation being set as a players' coach who has the respect and admiration of that locker room. But he wasn't perfect by any means, and Dundon -- for better or worse -- is the type of guy who seems to expect perfection.
It was previously reported that Splitter was "unlikely" to return, but that has since shifted to him being in serious consideration for the position. In fact, he's now one of the finalists, along with Los Angeles Clippers assistant Jeff Van Gundy and Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori, NBA insiders Chris Haynes and Marc Stein have separately reported.
We could see this going either way after the imperfect yet successful season Portland had led by the Brazilian big man.
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