Sports Poets Society

Barry Glendenning The Guardian - 1 May 2023 - Almost certainly fed up while facing the press in the media centre of Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum last Wednesday night, Giannis Antetokounmpo made no attempt to disguise his contempt for the query he had just been asked to field. The Bucks basketball legend had fronted up before the ladies and gentlemen of the fourth estate after his team’s elimination by the lowly ranked Miami Heat after a five-game series, arguably one of the most seismic upsets in NBA playoff history . Antetokounmpo’s gaze was caught by Eric Nehm, the man from The Athletic on the Bucks beat , who kept his question to the point. He had already asked it of Antetokounmpo’s coach and now wished to hear the player’s view.  “Do you view this season as a failure?” A sigh from the top table was followed by a groan of “Oh my God”, as Antetokounmpo wearily rubbed his hands up his face and through his hair, in the manner of a man who can’t believe the inanity of the question he...

https://www.basketballnetwork.net/old-school/chauncey-billups-motor-city-hero MR. PAVKOVICH SEP 25, 2018 Under the guidance of new general manager Dumars , the Pistons overhauled their roster in the early 2000s, adding Ben Wallace, Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, and Rasheed Wallace . In 2002–03, Chauncey Billups helped Detroit finish first overall in the Eastern Conference with a 50–32 regular season record. Billups earned the nickname "Mr. Big-Shot" during the regular season for two events. He first made a three on March 9 as time expired with his team at home but down 105–104 against the Golden State Warriors. The Pistons won 107–105 and Billups scored 31 points. The second event was just over two weeks later on March 26. The Pistons were tied in overtime with the Atlanta Hawks 99–99 until Billups made a top-of-the-key triple with 0.5 seconds left to win the game. Billups finished with 22 points against the Hawks. In the 2003 Playoffs, the top-seed Pistons surprisingly...

https://www.nbcsports.com/northwest/trail-blazers/5-things-know-about-chauncey-billups-new-blazers-head-coach JUN 29, 2021 / BY NBCSNW STAFF Shortly after the Trail Blazers fell in six games to the Denver Nuggets to bow out of the playoffs in the first round for the fourth time in five seasons , the team mutually parted ways with Terry Stotts. With the franchise’s second-winningest coach out in Portland, an extensive search began to find the Blazers next head coach. And that search is over. Sunday night, the team announced that Chauncey Billups, the current assistant coach with the Los Angeles Clippers, would become the 15th head coach to lead the Trail Blazers. Here are five things from on the court to know about Chauncey Billups: 1. He’s played for eight NBA teams Before Billups set his sights on a coaching career, he played for eight NBA teams, was traded five times and amnestied once. Billups wasn’t an instant star from Day 1. After being drafted third-overall by the Boston Celti...