A slap to the Cheeks

PORTLAND, Ore. – For all his popularity among the players and the fans, Portland Trail Blazers coach Maurice Cheeks ultimately didn’t have the wins.

Cheeks was fired Wednesday morning, after the Blazers had lost seven of their last nine and tumbled to 22-33.

“It’s a sad day for me because I’ve got guys on my team that I really … ,” said Cheeks, his voice trailing off in disappointment during an emotional news conference a few hours after he was let go.

“I didn’t do as well a job as I could have, as I did in previous years,” he concluded.

With Portland’s chances of making the playoffs dwindling, the Blazers appointed Kevin Pritchard, the team’s director of player personnel, as interim coach.

While the Blazers are not entirely giving up on the playoffs, Pritchard’s appointment shows the team is going to focus on evaluating younger players.

“I’m not going to mislead anybody. It’s a long uphill battle to get to the playoffs from where we’re at – 11 games under .500,” Blazers president Steve Patterson said.

The Blazers are in 12th place in the Western Conference, six games behind the Los Angeles Lakers for the eighth and final playoff spot.

The assistants who served under Cheeks will remain with the team.