DETROIT — The first game Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups circled on his NBA schedule was March 21, his return to Detroit.
He expected to be at the helm of a perennial playoff team led by Damian Lillard, closing in on a playoff spot or even better, jockeying for position at a higher seed. But hours before tipoff, Lillard was ruled out for the season, following abdominal surgery he underwent in January, with 12 games remaining.
And Billups probably didn’t expect for Ben McLemore and Brandon Williams (a two-way player) to get the most burn on a night when the favored adopted son returned home, but adjusting is what Billups has been doing all season and zooming out a bit, for an entire career.