The Miami Heat and Portland Trail Blazers both won their first games since Heat guard Terry Rozier and Portland head coach Chauncey Billups were arrested on Thursday in connection with two separate federal gambling investigations announced by the Eastern District of New York.
Under the stewardship of interim coach Tiago Splitter, the Blazers defeated the Golden State Warriors 139-119 while the Heat eased to a 146-114 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Both franchises have endured a difficult opening week to the NBA season, finding themselves embroiled in a scandal which has rocked the world of sport.
And, as players and coaches spoke to reporters before and after Friday’s games, they outlined the palpable sense of shock which surrounds the league.
That shock was shared by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver who, in his first public comments on the scandal, said he had “a pit in his stomach” when he heard the news.
“My initial reaction was I was deeply disturbed,” he told broadcaster Amazon Prime Video during the Boston Celtics’ game against the New York Knicks. “There’s nothing more important to the league and its fans than the integrity of the competition… It was very upsetting.”
Billups, the Portland head coach since 2021, was charged in an elaborate, mafia-linked scheme in which marks were lured to participate in rigged poker games in part with the opportunity to play alongside the NBA five-time All-Star. Attorney information for Billups was not immediately available.
CNN reached out to the Trail Blazers and the Heat on Thursday. The Heat directed press inquiries to the NBA’s statement while the Trail Blazers noted that Splitter would take on interim head coaching duties.
Suddenly shorn of their head coach, the Blazers were downbeat but determined on Friday. “It’s not an easy situation,” said forward Deni Avdija, per AP. “We really love Chauncey and what he’s done for this organization. I don’t know the details and I don’t really want to get into that. I’m trying to focus on the game.”
Attempting to block out everything off the court and focusing on basketball seems to be a strategy filtering down from Splitter who remained guarded in his press conference after the game when asked about Billups.
“We’re going to talk about basketball, just do what we do, play the way we’d like to play… I spoke in the morning (about Billups) but that’s it,” Splitter told reporters. “Life stuff happens and next step is basketball and doing our job.”
“(We’re) trying to focus on the basketball part,” he added. “But these guys are human beings and we understand that, but trying to focus on basketball.”
Meanwhile, Rozier was alleged to participate in a game-fixing scheme that included prop bets on his availability while a member of the Charlotte Hornets. Jim Trusty, Rozier’s attorney, strongly disputed the accusations, saying that prosecutors characterized Rozier as a subject of their investigation and not a target.
His teammate Bam Adebayo, who added 24 points against the Grizzlies, stressed that Rozier still had the support of the Heat, saying: “(We) support him through and through. That’s our brother at the end of the day … We stand behind him.”
“It felt kind of weird without him being here, actually, because he’s the first person I get to talk to in the morning. He brings that great energy to our team,” he added.
“Terry is somebody who is very dear to all of us,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. “He’s had a real positive impact on our locker room … We send our thoughts and our care for him as he goes through this.”
Rozier was investigated by the NBA in 2023 over the same allegations for which he has now been indicted, as part of the inquiry which led to the lifetime ban of Toronto Raptors center Jontay Porter.
Regarding Rozier’s case, Silver defended the league’s process which “ultimately concluded that there was insufficient evidence despite that aberrational behavior to move forward.”
“He still hasn’t been convicted of anything, in fairness to Terry,” Silver added. “Obviously, it doesn’t look good, but he’s now been put on administrative leave. There’s a balance here of protecting people’s rights and investigating, and as I said, we’ve been working with the government, and they have extraordinary powers that a league office doesn’t have.”