Here's the latest Trail Blazers news for April 4, including Chauncey Billups' Hall of Fame berth, another overlooked Scoot Henderson bright spot and how Portland blew a golden offseason opportunity with a win over the Charlotte Hornets.
Chauncey Billups, Hall of Famer
News broke yesterday that Trail Blazers Head Coach Chauncey Billups will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Billups played 17 seasons in the NBA, peaking as the leader of the 2004 NBA Champion Detroit Pistons. He was the Finals MVP that season, earning the nickname "Mr. Big Shot" along the way. He made two all-defensive teams and finished in the top-six in MVP voting twice.
“I just played the right way my whole career and tried to play for my team as a point guard and make everybody better," Billups said per Aaron Fentress of Oregon Live. "And everything good happened to me because of that. It’s a great testament to that.”
Uncoincidentally, it's easy to see that same attitude in Blazers rookie point guard Scoot Henderson. Speaking of...
Another Scoot Henderson bright spot
Scoot has had an up-and-down debut season, but there are still flashes and encouraging stats that point to a bright future. For instance, he's the only NBA rookie to score 20 points and dish out 10 assists in a game. He's done it four times; all other rookies have combined to do it zero times.
.@thereal013 posted 22 points and 10 assists tonight, marking his fourth game this season with at least 20 points and 10 assists. He remains the only rookie to record 20-plus points and 10-plus assists in a game this season, and he has now done so four times.
— Trail Blazers PR (@TrailBlazersPR) April 4, 2024
Portland fans might have to be patient, but there's a franchise point guard in there somewhere.
Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in Charlotte
Billups' Hall of Fame nod, Scoot's big night, Deandre Ayton's double-double and Jabari Walker's 23-rebound performance were all things to celebrate after last night's win over the Hornets.
Winning the game was not.
A loss would have given the Trail Blazers a legitimate chance of finishing the season with the league's third-worst record and a 14 percent chance at landing the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Instead, Portland went and won and likely locked itself into the fifth-best lottery odds and a 10.5 percent chance at the first overall pick.
The Blazers had lost 10 straight games heading into last night. Of course, they decided this was the night to get back into the win column. (For what it's worth, Portland had the fifth-best odds last year before landing third in the lottery. But is this franchise lucky enough to pull that off twice in a row?)