Blazers guard Anfernee Simons is adjusting to his new role of being the number one option on the team, Casey Holdahl of NBA.com writes. Portland traded away CJ McCollum, Norman Powell and others at the trade deadline and is missing Damian Lillard due to an abdominal injury, clearing the way for Simons to receive a larger role.
“Obviously I’m going to be at the top of the scouting report even more now that (Jusuf Nurkic) is out,” Simons said. Nurkic is dealing with a foot injury and will miss at least three more weeks. “So just learning how to navigate through that. Obviously it’s going to be even more tougher for me but it’s the perfect time to see everything.
“Like, the Warriors threw a box-and-one at me, probably the first time I’ve been boxed-and-one’d since high school. That was an interesting thing to kind of navigate though.”
Simons is in his fourth season with the franchise. He’s averaging a career-high 17.3 points and 3.9 assists per game, shooting 44% from the field, 40.5% from deep and 89% from the free throw line. He most recently finished with 38 points in a loss to the Timberwolves on Saturday.
Here are some other notes from the Western Conference:
- Unlikely heroes are stepping up for the Suns in the absences of Chris Paul (thumb) and Devin Booker (protocols), Cydney Henderson of USA Today writes. Phoenix received a key performance from Cameron Johnson on Friday, as the 26-year-old finished with 38 points and a buzzer-beating game-winner. Mikal Bridges also added 20 points, while Cameron Payne recorded 17 points and 16 assists.
- The Jazz could be facing an offseason of massive change if they don’t make a deep postseason run, ESPN’s Tim McMahon suggested on The Lowe Post. Utah has had an inconsistent season — the team is 8-2 in its last 10 games but lost by 34 on Friday against New Orleans — and could break up the Donovan Mitchell–Rudy Gobert partnership if it doesn’t succeed this year.
- Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report explores how the Thunder could drive various blockbuster deals this summer. Oklahoma City will be armed with cap space and draft picks from a massive rebuild. As Pincus notes, the team currently has up to $31.8MM in cap space, but nearly all of it will be lost when the league calendar year flips on July 1. The assessment comes from factoring in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander‘s new extension and assuming Derrick Favors exercises his $10.2MM player option.
Small correction; I noticed it said miles, not Mikal bridges
I wonder what it will take for Lillard to move on from Portland. If he is legitimately interested in winning a championship, it will not happen with the Blazers. Maybe the progression with Simons will force the Blazers hand.
Shai would be such a good fit for the Hornets
Keep hoping and dreaming…..he’s still not goin anywhere
Hornets would never be able to afford him.
Let’s hope the Jazz gets rid of Gobert, literally all he’s got is the lenght, way too easy to push around and very much a liability on the offensive end.
Mitchell means what he says when he’s talking about their ‘common goal’ (his and Gobert’s) but it’s only a matter of time he realizes it just ain’t happening.
Outsiders want so badly for there to be controversy on the Jazz. Sorry guys, it’s just not there.
Gobert is not a one on one scorer, but he’s leading the league in field goal percentage, and is averaging 15 points and rebounds per game. While playing great defense.
Mitchell is signed. No blow-up will arrive, just out-of-town dreamers dreaming. Try rooting for Utah once; things will look differently.
Losing to NOLA will feel more routine in time, tho it was rude.
Every season has losses like that. Even the best teams have mental letdowns. In this case, I think it was the length at every position that bothered the Jazz. They seemed frustrated. Thankfully, not every team has that player-length luxury. The Bucks had it against the Suns last year and it paid off as well.
Teams like the Suns and Jazz need to be ready to counter that length with screens and speed. Can’t just sit on the perimeter on offense. Gotta move the ball fast!
Simons will look good alongside Dame next year. Won’t be enough but itll be a nice backcourt. They should have 2 decent 1sts, I’d try and trade up if you can and grab Paolo if he slips to 4.
Simons and Dame is a worse version of CJ and Dame..
But a hella lot cheaper.
Cheaper for now. And that does matter. Simons has more room to grow. Itll still be a liability on defense.
You obv don’t understand how good Ant Simons is
I’ve been following him since his first Summer League. I’ve always thought he was a fantastic player! Sometimes change is all someone like Dame needs to help light the fire again. Continue to surround him with youthful excitement and it’s contagious! Just have to be patient with more mistakes.
And Sankara, understanding Mccollum, who does not need Blazer focus to score.
Immediately when Mccollum arrived 2013/14, the Balzers jumped from averaging .413 winning in 2 seasons to averaging .577 in the next 8 until this year. Thats going from 2 fourths, to 2 firsts, 3 seconds and a third in six years. Now Mccollum chages around a “sinking” franchise in NOLA.
Meanwhile Simons is taking a long time to be dangerous, and age does not explain it. He is just now above average in PER and onoff, and still negative in Rtg and BPM. Now he will want paid. Mccollum was winning on his rookie salary, with higher numbers.
Can Simons & Lillard even be winners? There has never been a good fromtline; Nurkic has been the best since 2015/16 if healthy. (Aldridge & Batum left. Lillard drafted 2012/13.)
Hey Tim you’re bored go write about something that is true smh