Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports
Terry Stotts has told reporters at the end of the season with the Portland Trail Blazers that this was an enjoyable year.
Considering the Trail Blazers were 33-49 and lost their last 13 games, that comment might be hard for some observers to accept. But working with such a young NBA team, Stotts likes the fact that his squad won a lot of close games earlier in the season. He doesn’t like it that they lost a lot of close games the second half of the season.
Working with so many younger players and losing some key veterans to injuries finally caught up to the Blazers. Stotts made the decision late in the season that it was more valuable to give the younger players court time than to try going after a couple of wins when the playoff picture has already faded. The material is there for the Blazers to bounce back in winning fashion from this past season. Stotts has got to have his team ready to go.
Stotts didn’t exactly come to the Blazers with so-so credentials. He had a career record of 115-168 and he didn’t exactly edge closer to the .500 mark with this season. In five years as an NBA coach, his best record is 40-42 in his first season with the Milwaukee Bucks 2005-06.
What Stotts has going for him next year can be summed up in two words: Damian Lillard.
There’s also LaMarcus Aldridge and many other key parts of the puzzle, but Lillard is the rookie sensation who can take the Blazers places. Stotts just has to use Lillard wisely and perhaps he’ll eventually wind up with his best career win-loss coaching record.
