Anfernee Simons is unbelievable

[Idog1976]

I know you're fully invested in this narrative about how Dame and Ant can't work...because defense

can you explain to me how it was that Portland ranked 8th in the NBA in defense in 2017-18...WHEN...the starting back court was Dame & CJ combining for 73 minutes a game? If Dame/CJ = Dame/Ant = shit defense...how did Dame/CJ lead the Blazers to the 8th best defense in the league? And that's with the Stotts defense. Is Billups a better defensive coach than Stotts?

I get that you're skeptical, that's fine. But you really seem insistent that it can't work and that's simply not a known

I was going to respond but you did so much better than I could. Thanks.

Also Ant seems on a completely level than CJ offensively with his passing and clutch shooting (the last one needs more data but that sidestep was sick).

 

[OneSport3]

I know you're fully invested in this narrative about how Dame and Ant can't work...because defense

can you explain to me how it was that Portland ranked 8th in the NBA in defense in 2017-18...WHEN...the starting back court was Dame & CJ combining for 73 minutes a game? If Dame/CJ = Dame/Ant = shit defense...how did Dame/CJ lead the Blazers to the 8th best defense in the league? And that's with the Stotts defense. Is Billups a better defensive coach than Stotts?

I get that you're skeptical, that's fine. But you really seem insistent that it can't work and that's simply not a known

Also, Hart and Winslow are better defenders than Aminu and Harkless. Hart and Winslow are dawgs too. We’ve never had that hard-noised type of guy. Now we have 2 of them.

 

[FlashWad]

Have to give Credit to Neil for some of his drafting for guards. Anfernee is only 22 also. Hes going to be a superstar.

 

[AldoTrapani]

If he was so damn smart the least he could do is sign him to a reasonable extension before he got fired. Now we're gonna pay him the max (he deserves it).

Maybe Ant said no. I’ll bet on myself

 

[blazerkor]

I know you're fully invested in this narrative about how Dame and Ant can't work...because defense

can you explain to me how it was that Portland ranked 8th in the NBA in defense in 2017-18...WHEN...the starting back court was Dame & CJ combining for 73 minutes a game? If Dame/CJ = Dame/Ant = shit defense...how did Dame/CJ lead the Blazers to the 8th best defense in the league? And that's with the Stotts defense. Is Billups a better defensive coach than Stotts?

I get that you're skeptical, that's fine. But you really seem insistent that it can't work and that's simply not a known

You make a fantastic point about 2017-18 and at the same time we still didn't do shit in the playoffs. You're also right that my assumptions are just that and the reality is a complete unknown.

Listen I'm also very invested in the hope that I'm wrong and they play well together this season. I'm not even saying that they have to win a playoff series or even the play ins. I just want to see them be more than the sum of their parts on offense and not hurt the defense. I want Dame to retire a Blazer. I want him to win championships here. So I hope I'm wrong about him and Ant not working together. Then we'll all get what we want.

Also, I don't know if Cronin is the type of guy that can pivot so we're probably going to go into the playoffs next season with Dame, Ant, Nas, Jerami Grant, Nurk, Hart (him and Nas might be reversed), Winslow, someone for the MLE and whoever steps up from the group of Trendon, GB3, Elijah, Keon and our second round pick assuming we use this years first to acquire Grant. Who the fuck knows what will happen? Certainly not me.

 

[Kulas]

Check out this Dame interview about Ant, listen to what he says midway through the video

 

[STOMP]

I bet I can name multiple teams with a 6’3 PG and a 6’4 SG. I mean there wasn’t anyone over 6’5 in either finals team’s backcourt last season.

What does that have to do with a potential Portland backcourt of 6'1.75 Dame and 6'2.25 Simons? And to further the stupid, Khris Middleton started at SG for the champs last season and he measured 6'6.75 at his predraft.

https://www.nbadraft.net/2012-nba-combine-measurements/
https://www.nbadraft.net/2018-nba-draft-combine-measurements/

I don't know how any Blazer fan could have watched the Lillard-CJ backcourt get continually exploited on D throughout their pairing and ask for another helping of that.

STOMP

 

[Scalma]

What does that have to do with a potential Portland backcourt of 6'1.75 Dame and 6'2.25 Simons? And to further the stupid, Khris Middleton started at SG for the champs last season and he measured 6'6.75 at his predraft.

https://www.nbadraft.net/2012-nba-combine-measurements/
https://www.nbadraft.net/2018-nba-draft-combine-measurements/

STOMP

Middleton spent most of his time at SF with Connaughton at SG, not unlike the raptors when they won a championship with 6 foot Lowry and 6 foot (6 foot 1 since you seem caught up in details) VanVleet getting the majority of the minutes in the backcourt even though vanvleet wasn’t technically the starter. Btw Milwaukee starts Jrue and Grayson Allen currently.

But anyways I take PLEASURE in knowing people like you can’t handle the fact that Dame and Ant are gonna be starting in the backcourt next season. Enjoy the show.

SCALMA

 

[STOMP]

Middleton spent most of his time at SF with Connaughton at SG, not unlike the raptors when they won a championship with 6 foot Lowry and 6 foot (6 foot 1 since you seem caught up in details) VanVleet getting the majority of the minutes in the backcourt even though vanvleet wasn’t technically the starter.

But anyways I take PLEASURE in knowing people like you can’t handle the fact that Dame and Ant are gonna be starting in the backcourt next season. Enjoy the show.

SCALMA

Lol, whatever. I take no pleasure in reading fanboy pretend time takes of how big you want your heros to be. Is reality too hard for you?

I'm rooting for the team to make decisions that help them to compete for championships in reality. In reality, teams continually exploit Portland's small backcourt. To best accomplish that winning stuff, a SG needs to be big enough to be able to be switched off onto a SF.

STOMP

 

[Scalma]

Lol, whatever wingnut. I take no pleasure in reading fanboy pretend time takes of how big you want your heros to be. Is reality too hard for you?

STOMP

*heroes

Is spelling too hard for you?

SCALMA

 

[tlongII]

That's why have Josh Hart. 6-5 is viable for a SG.

 

[blazerfan11]

That's why have Josh Hart. 6-5 is viable for a SG.

Josh Hart at shooting guard is not only viable, he is unbelievable.

 

[Scalma]

Josh Hart at shooting guard is not only viable, he is unbelievable.

simons and his max contract ain’t coming off the bench next season. I think it’s more likely that Hart starts at SF with Nas off the bench.

 

[Pinwheel1]

What does that have to do with a potential Portland backcourt of 6'1.75 Dame and 6'2.25 Simons? And to further the stupid, Khris Middleton started at SG for the champs last season and he measured 6'6.75 at his predraft.

https://www.nbadraft.net/2012-nba-combine-measurements/
https://www.nbadraft.net/2018-nba-draft-combine-measurements/

I don't know how any Blazer fan could have watched the Lillard-CJ backcourt get continually exploited on D throughout their pairing and ask for another helping of that.

STOMP

Reminds me of the logic when fans here questioned why we would want to draft CP3 after watching Stoudamire get exploited for 7 years. Like somehow they were the same player just because they were both under 6 ft.

 

[TBpup]

Isiah Thomas/Joe Dumars

How is length of time relevant? They have the proof of concept. It worked for them, it works for us now.

I would submit they are the exception that proves the rule. It was a one-off, and those two aren't like Dame/Ant other than in size. Thomas had maybe the tightest handle in NBA history (Kyrie is up there as well), and Dumars was a 1st team All-Defense player. Neither of Dame or Ant is either of those. I fear we could be back to a slightly better version of Dame/CJ. Two guards who take the bulk of the shots while the rest of the team has to play defense.

Dame has averages right at 20 shots per game for the last 7 seasons. That seems unlikely to change all of a sudden and it probably shouldn't. He's earned that and proved to be worthy of that amount of attempts.
In Ant's last 23 games where he has exploded, he is averaging 18+ shots per game. That is 38 shots per game between the two of them, and very similar to what Dame/CJ have done for years....which rendered us going no where in the Playoffs.

In the last 10 games, the Blazers are averaging 89.6 FGA's per game. And that is with Chauncey's emphasis on pushing the ball....which Dame very rarely does. Either Dame and Ant are going to have to have decreases in the amount of shots they get per game, or we are going to be back to 2 players taking 42% of the shots and everyone else dividing up crumbs and covering on defense. The problem is, you don't really want Dame taking less shots and Ant is shooting at an efficiency level since he became the lead guard that is off the charts....so you don't really want to take shots away from him either.

That leaves 51 shots for the remaining 6-7 players. Nurk wants his touches, as he is getting 13+ shots per game in his last 24. If he is going to remain at that level (and stay happy and productive) that now leaves 38 shots for Hart, Winslow, Nas, Grant?, McLemore?, and Watford. That is an average of 6 shots per game per player. Since coming to Portland, Hart is getting a VERY efficient 13+ shots per game. Grant is averaging 16 shots per game in his last 2 seasons.

Someone is going to have to take the hit. Unless they are winning at a high level, that can cause problems just like it did before. And does Dame suddenly after 10 seasons, start sprinting up and down the court? When CJ blew up and joined Dame in the backcourt, there were those who were dubious from the start and it completely proved out to be an ineffective style in contributing to being a contender. Not enough size or defense, and then asking teammates to cover for them when they were taking a large bulk of the shots.

Ant is a bit different than CJ, but combined with Dame, this seems eerily too similar. Hope I'm wrong, or Dame's career will continue to be one of being on a nice little team that isn't a threat to anyone of contender status.

 

[PCmor7]

What I know is that they are two smallish, ball dominant guards who have been poor at defense. I know from six years of experience that those attributes are not a combination for high level success. If they show at least hints of their redundancies not being problematic during the time they play together this season, then I won't be on the trade Dame this off season bus. However, if they look like they are less than the some of their parts on offense and a big defensive liability, I will want the team to trade Dame. It's crazy to me that I'm even saying that because Dame is my favorite player to ever play the game but putting him in a better situation for his success and giving us a better chance at a title will make sense to me if these two don't look like a good match. Even if that's just over ten games.

The reason why I would be what others might see as hasty is because having watched both of them a lot they don't look like a good match. Ant and CJ aren't the same player but almost seven years ago when Olshey came out and said that Dame and CJ were going to be our starting back court going forward I was really disheartened. I just couldn't see how their games would be complementary. I just look at Dame's game and Ant's and I don't see a good match... I don't see why anyone would. When we have a guy in Hart that is obviously a great match with Ant and we have a guy in Dame that has huge trade value around the league, I don't understand why we would drag the situation out. Give it a chance for sure but taking a bunch of time trying to make it into something it shows itself not to be wouldn't be the wisest decision in my opinion.

With all due respect, I don't think Ant is nearly the ball-dominant player Dame or CJ are or Brandon Roy was. His game dovetails nicely into being a catch-and-shoot guy .,. in fact, one could argue that's his biggest strength now by a wide margin.

That's a role that definitely can co-exist and would even complement Dame. The fact that he can handle the ball to initiate offense and involves his teammates (probably more than he should, in some instances) makes him even a better running mate with Dame.

As THE guy, Ant hasn't been one to dribble down the clock and force bad, contested shots. I'd like to see how he and Dame work together for a bit before continually assuming he's going to be CJ v 2. If I was trying to date a girl, it wouldn't feel right for her to judge me AS the guy she just broke up with because we're roughly the same build. Same as a job -- I don't want a potential employer to judge me because the guy he just fired came from the same part of the county. There's no reason the Blazers have to make a decision right this minute or at the draft. They have the luxury of being able to see how it plays and percolates in actual games.

 

[Scalma]

With all due respect, I don't think Ant is nearly the ball-dominant player Dame or CJ are or Brandon Roy was. His game dovetails nicely into being a catch-and-shoot guy .,. in fact, one could argue that's his biggest strength now by a wide margin.

That's a role that definitely can co-exist and would even complement Dame. The fact that he can handle the ball to initiate offense and involves his teammates (probably more than he should, in some instances) makes him even a better running mate with Dame.

As THE guy, Ant hasn't been one to dribble down the clock and force bad, contested shots. I'd like to see how he and Dame work together for a bit before continually assuming he's going to be CJ v 2. If I was trying to date a girl, it wouldn't feel right for her to judge me AS the guy she just broke up with because we're roughly the same build. Same as a job -- I don't want a potential employer to judge me because the guy he just fired came from the same part of the county. There's no reason the Blazers have to make a decision right this minute or at the draft. They have the luxury of being able to see how it plays and percolates in actual games.

yeah, not only are Simons and CJ different players, but they’re also developed by different coaches. Last year Simons was pretty much a liability defensively. He’s no longer that. There’s no reason to believe he won’t continue to get better defensively because he actually plays for a coach that cares and prioritizes it. Ant is the age CJ was as a rookie, Billups can mold him into the player he wants. I also suspect Dame will be better defensively since he’ll actually be healthy and can exert himself more.

 

[Cugel]

The safe bet is to pay Ant and let the cards fall where they may. If , a big if, they can't make it work, then so be it, and Dame may ask out. The huge upside is Ant, his youth, character, and massive ceiling. You can't let a guy like that slip away. He has proven himself beyond all doubt. He could be among the top 3-5 FAs in a few months. He keeps it up and he will be in line for an all-nba nod some day. A massive asset that could always be dealt if need be.

The hope is that Chauncey, Dame, Ant, Hart etc. can make it work. The team plays much different w/o CJ; look at the assists. Hopefully Dame won't let that regress

 

[andalusian]

Ant is a bit different than CJ, but combined with Dame, this seems eerily too similar. Hope I'm wrong, or Dame's career will continue to be one of being on a nice little team that isn't a threat to anyone of contender status.

I think With Dame's age and Ant's ability to really run the team's offense (a lot better than CJ, imho) - you could in theory Dame's minutes go down from 36 - 38 mpg down to 32 - and frankly, between this and the belief he can play team ball with worthy team-mates - I do not think you will continue to see the 18+ attempts per game from him.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

What does that have to do with a potential Portland backcourt of 6'1.75 Dame and 6'2.25 Simons? And to further the stupid, Khris Middleton started at SG for the champs last season and he measured 6'6.75 at his predraft.

https://www.nbadraft.net/2012-nba-combine-measurements/
https://www.nbadraft.net/2018-nba-draft-combine-measurements/

I don't know how any Blazer fan could have watched the Lillard-CJ backcourt get continually exploited on D throughout their pairing and ask for another helping of that.

STOMP

This is a hot debate that I don't like to get into, because people get mad. However, while some focus on "small backcourt", I wonder where the 2nd all star is. Since LMA left, Dame has never been paired with an all star - at any position.

So, in s2 crazy talk, my opinion is "Get Dame a fucking all star to play with, and then we'll see if the small backcourt is actually a problem."

 

[Natebishop3]

Reminds me of the logic when fans here questioned why we would want to draft CP3 after watching Stoudamire get exploited for 7 years. Like somehow they were the same player just because they were both under 6 ft.

Well.... I mean..... we have three years of watching him. He hasn't shown much on defense. And both Dame/CJ have said they want to do better on defense, but they never really backed it up on the court. Defense is a frame of mind. I just hope that Chauncey can get to him and that Stotts didn't damage him permanently.

 

[Natebishop3]

This is a hot debate that I don't like to get into, because people get mad. However, while some focus on "small backcourt", I wonder where the 2nd all star is. Since LMA left, Dame has never been paired with an all star - at any position.

So, in s2 crazy talk, my opinion is "Get Dame a fucking all star to play with, and then we'll see if the small backcourt is actually a problem."

CJ was putting up All-Star numbers. Frankly, I think the title All-Star doesn't carry much weight. There have been plenty of guys who got the nod that don't deserve the gravitas that it comes with.

 

[wizenheimer]

You make a fantastic point about 2017-18 and at the same time we still didn't do shit in the playoffs. You're also right that my assumptions are just that and the reality is a complete unknown.

sure...that's a good point too because that was the playoffs Portland got swept by the Pels. But let's be clear: the reason for that sweep was a failure of the offense, not the defense (although I guess you could say that Nurkic could not defend AD).

but the Pels exploited Portland's Achilles Heel that other teams, notably the Warriors have exploited: that being that when the ball was taken out of Dame's hands, the Blazer offense collapsed. CJ could not make the other team pay for the Dame-centric defense, and he couldn't run the offense well enough, nor did it have other weapons effective enough.

that's where large servings of hope come in:

1) Will Simons be better at being the outlet option than CJ was? Will he be better at initiating the offense? Is he talented enough, unlike CJ, to consistently punish an imbalanced defense twisted toward Dame? I think the early returns are positive. Simons seems to have better court vision than CJ (at least he does when driving right), he seems to dribble less and make quicker decisions. And his perimeter game is much more like Dame than CJ's (although his dribble-drive game is too much like CJ's...get to the damn foul line Ant!)

2) is Billups, as a coach, better equipped to design a defense that covers for the Dame/Ant pairing than Stotts was at designing a defense that covered the Dame/CJ pairing? Will the Billups motion offense be harder to defend than the 'iso-heavy-Dame-save-us!' offense of Stotts?

3) finally, and perhaps most important: Does Cronin really have a plan? Will he be able to add the players between now and the trade deadline next season, that complements the Dame/Ant pairing enough to make that pairing viable? I think with Nurkic-Hart-Winslow-lottery pick(s)-TPE's he has a pretty nice start

when I look at that extremely objective and logical list of extremely intelligent and insightful questions I generated out of my extremely gifted colon, I'm more hopeful now than I was at any time over the last 7 seasons. Bow down to my colon man

 

[Pinwheel1]

Well.... I mean..... we have three years of watching him. He hasn't shown much on defense. And both Dame/CJ have said they want to do better on defense, but they never really backed it up on the court. Defense is a frame of mind. I just hope that Chauncey can get to him and that Stotts didn't damage him permanently.

Yeah, but how many times have we seen our players go to another team and play better D because of their coach. Patty Mills is the best example.
A small guard who immediately played better D when he got to SA under Pop.

 

[TBpup]

Yeah, but how many times have we seen our players go to another team and play better D because of their coach. Patty Mills is the best example.
A small guard who immediately played better D when he got to SA under Pop.

I would actually be interested in 'how many times'. If it takes a coach of Pop's caliber, there might not be too many examples.

 

[BIG Q]

The second all star to pair with Dame may already be on the roster. Look at Phoenix. They didn't have an all star until they started winning, and players matured. Booker makes the game as an injury replacement for a couple and is finally in now on the coaches vote. They have CP3 in now with Ayton and Bridges maturing and on the cusp of all stardom. I personally thought Nurk should have been an all star by now. I think CJ really hurt Nurks game and he resented him. When you continually walk the ball up, waste the shot clock and only pass it down low to the big guy when you are unable to get your contested shot off and he has little time to operate, you are not endearing yourself to the big guy. I always thought that by walking the ball up the court, the guards were just making it easier for them to chuck up a shot, contested or not. When you run, all the teammates are in a position to finish or have a mismatch. Start winning at a high level, properly utilize Nurk and Ant with Dame and they can be the next Suns. And yes, the Suns traded for CP3, but he was considered washed up and on a bad contract. The Suns gave up little for him. One last thing, remember that it takes longer for big guys to mature and develop. Hopefully Nurk is now there. He is thriving with this new group in a small sample size, but the change in his attitude, for the positive is obvious, and infectious.

 

[Haakzilla]

 

[TBpup]

The second all star to pair with Dame may already be on the roster. Look at Phoenix. They didn't have an all star until they started winning, and players matured. Booker makes the game as an injury replacement for a couple and is finally in now on the coaches vote. They have CP3 in now with Ayton and Bridges maturing and on the cusp of all stardom. I personally thought Nurk should have been an all star by now. I think CJ really hurt Nurks game and he resented him. When you continually walk the ball up, waste the shot clock and only pass it down low to the big guy when you are unable to get your contested shot off and he has little time to operate, you are not endearing yourself to the big guy. I always thought that by walking the ball up the court, the guards were just making it easier for them to chuck up a shot, contested or not. When you run, all the teammates are in a position to finish or have a mismatch. Start winning at a high level, properly utilize Nurk and Ant with Dame and they can be the next Suns. And yes, the Suns traded for CP3, but he was considered washed up and on a bad contract. The Suns gave up little for him. One last thing, remember that it takes longer for big guys to mature and develop. Hopefully Nurk is now there. He is thriving with this new group in a small sample size, but the change in his attitude, for the positive is obvious, and infectious.

That is where I hope the Blazers get to. Having players with the defensive abilities of CP3, Bridges and Ayton with that type of length and youth from the last two.

 

[Natebishop3]

 

[BBert]

The second all star to pair with Dame may already be on the roster. Look at Phoenix. They didn't have an all star until they started winning, and players matured. Booker makes the game as an injury replacement for a couple and is finally in now on the coaches vote. They have CP3 in now with Ayton and Bridges maturing and on the cusp of all stardom. I personally thought Nurk should have been an all star by now. I think CJ really hurt Nurks game and he resented him. When you continually walk the ball up, waste the shot clock and only pass it down low to the big guy when you are unable to get your contested shot off and he has little time to operate, you are not endearing yourself to the big guy. I always thought that by walking the ball up the court, the guards were just making it easier for them to chuck up a shot, contested or not. When you run, all the teammates are in a position to finish or have a mismatch. Start winning at a high level, properly utilize Nurk and Ant with Dame and they can be the next Suns. And yes, the Suns traded for CP3, but he was considered washed up and on a bad contract. The Suns gave up little for him. One last thing, remember that it takes longer for big guys to mature and develop. Hopefully Nurk is now there. He is thriving with this new group in a small sample size, but the change in his attitude, for the positive is obvious, and infectious.

The Bert approves this post.