Anfernee Simons is unbelievable

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Was trading Gary Trent a huge fuck-up? Would a backcourt of Ant and Trent be the basis of a contender of the future? Trent was amazing in the bubble play-in, but was already much worse in the same playoffs and then his defense fell off a cliff. But now he seems to have rediscovered it? (He's still a bit of a black hole)
 
least surprising stat of the day. when you have such few NBA caliber teammates, this is what happens

 
since the turn of the calendar year, though 27 games, Simons has averaged:

23.4 pts, 5.8 asts, 2.7 rebs on 45.6% fg, 42% from 3, 87% FT, 61% TS% in 35.4 MPG as largely the only focus of defensive attention.

enough sample size for some of the skeptics?

Also, only he and FVV have averaged at least 20 pts and 5 asts while shooting at least 40% from 3 in that stretch.
 
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Didn't realize that not only was Ant shooting a very good percentage from 3 last year, but he was also doing it on consistently terrible shots. Kinda makes me excited to see what he might be able to do as Dame's "Robin", likely getting much better looks as a starting 2.
 
PtldPlatypus said:


Didn't realize that not only was Ant shooting a very good percentage from 3 last year, but he was also doing it on consistently terrible shots. Kinda makes me excited to see what he might be able to do as Dame's "Robin", likely getting much better looks as a starting 2.
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Yeah, that's all true and everything, but Josh Hart had a really good 13 game stretch as a Blazer. Clearly, the time to ̶g̶i̶v̶e̶ ̶u̶p̶ ̶o̶n̶ trade Simons is now!
 
Interesting article from Marc Spears about Ant's progression under Dame.

When Blazers All-Star Damian Lillard speaks, Anfernee Simons is listening (andscape.com)

Marc Spears said:
Lillard noticed last season that Simons was implementing his advice in games.

“He would be like, ‘Oh, now I see why you haven’t tried the screen higher,’ ” Lillard said of Simons. “ ‘Oh, I see why you are looking [the defender] off more.’ He started being able to see and understand things on a different level. There are a lot of guys that play a lot of minutes, but it can take years [to learn the game]. Sometimes they never just think of what’s going on. They just play because they’re just naturally that good.

“And what speaks the most to his progression is he’s smart, he’s observing, he pays attention and he’s humble. He’s always listening, always asking questions. He’s figured out the part where that’s what makes you confident: Always being willing to listen. Being coached, working hard. And that’s why he is coming home so fast.”
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AldoTrapani said:
He was adamant he would be a star too. Say what you want about Olshey but the guy was a damn good talent evaluator for guards
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Yeah Olshey pretty much hit on every guard selection from every range. Who’s the worst guard he’s drafted? Connougton—who’s still a contributor on a championship team?

Hope Schmitty has success across the board and not just guards.
 
AldoTrapani said:
He was adamant he would be a star too. Say what you want about Olshey but the guy was a damn good talent evaluator for guards
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for draft prospects, ok

but for established NBA players, not so much. He ridiculously overrated CJ's talent for 8 seasons. He overrated Crabbe and matched an idiot offer sheet. He overrated Afflalo and underrated Will Barton. He overrated Norm Powell, at least in comparison to Trent, and by giving him a bloated contract to play SF. He grossly overrated and overpaid Evan Turner. He underrated the importance of a competent backup PG. He traded Batum for Gerald Henderson. He tried to fill those backup PG and SG holes by dumpster diving for poor fits & scrubs like Napier, Baldwin, Stauskas, Bazemore, Hezonja, and Derrick Jones

he drove Portland way down into the dark alley of length-deficient rosters which they haven't backed out of yet
 
wizenheimer said:
for draft prospects, ok

but for established NBA players, not so much. He ridiculously overrated CJ's talent for 8 seasons. He overrated Crabbe and matched an idiot offer sheet. He overrated Afflalo and underrated Will Barton. He overrated Norm Powell, at least in comparison to Trent, and by giving him a bloated contract to play SF. He grossly overrated and overpaid Evan Turner. He underrated the importance of a competent backup PG. He traded Batum for Gerald Henderson. He tried to fill those backup PG and SG holes by dumpster diving for poor fits & scrubs like Napier, Baldwin, Stauskas, Bazemore, Hezonja, and Derrick Jones

he drove Portland way down into the dark alley of length-deficient rosters which they haven't backed out of yet
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I understand what you mean by overrating, but also think there is a 'tax' that comes with being the PORTLAND Trailblazers and signing guys that you have to take into account. Sometimes no action is better than foolish action but the cap money has to go somewhere and to assets that want to be in Portland.
 
UKRAINEFAN said:
What if he is only unbelievable every fourth game?
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Reminds me of the joke from the first half of LeBron's career, when he was notorious for disappearing in 4th quarters: LeBron and 50 Cent are forming a new group. They're calling it $1.25
 
FUN FACTS

1. Ants do not have lungs.
2. Ants do not have ears.
3. Ants are farmers.
4. Ants have two stomachs.
5. Ants can swim.
6. Ants are slave owners.
7. Ants are as old as dinosaurs.
8. There are more than 12,000 species of ants worldwide.
9. An ant can lift 20 times its body weight.
10. Some queen ants can live for years and have millions of offspring.
11. When ants fight, they usually fight to the death.
12. When the colony's queen dies, the colony can only survive for a few months.
13. Ants can live for two hours without oxygen.
14. Ants have no blood!
 
I am not sold on the Ant/Dame backcourt.
 
so by this logic the Hawks should trade away Young since i see he is 3rd on the list -- I am assuming your using this to say we should trade Ant cause he sucks or something

We all knew Ant was not a great defender but he is a very good scorer and sometimes you need to take the good with the bad. If anything all this means is if the Blazers want to keep Ant they need to get better defenders to cover up for his poor D.
 
Ripcity4life77 said:
so by this logic the Hawks should trade away Young since i see he is 3rd on the list -- I am assuming your using this to say we should trade Ant cause he sucks or something

We all knew Ant was not a great defender but he is a very good scorer and sometimes you need to take the good with the bad. If anything all this means is if the Blazers want to keep Ant they need to get better defenders to cover up for his poor D.
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Yeah, if Hawks can trade him for a better defender of similar caliber they absolutely should, IMO.

But we're in completely different situation than the Hawks.
 
Offensive players have much more value than defensive players. The offense can dictate who has the ball easily each play. The defense can't dictate who is defending the ball.

Of course it would be better if Simons was a superior defender, he's an imperfect player with advantages and disadvantages.

Still has a ton of value.

I'm ok trading him if we get a good long term asset since he can help a team win and we're nowhere close to winning.

But if we can't get a good asset - I'll be happy to see him play with the Blazers next year.
 
SharpesTriumph said:
Offensive players have much more value than defensive players. The offense can dictate who has the ball easily each play. The defense can't dictate who is defending the ball.

Of course it would be better if Simons was a superior defender, he's an imperfect player with advantages and disadvantages.

Still has a ton of value.

I'm ok trading him if we get a good long term asset since he can help a team win and we're nowhere close to winning.

But if we can't get a good asset - I'll be happy to see him play with the Blazers next year.
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If your best player sucks at defense it sets the tone for everyone else. Being one of the worst defenders in the league with his athleticism is just lack of caring.

Anyway. I'd take a future projected lotto pick for him if we can't get a good forward in return (which seems unlikely). I feel the same about Grant.

If we can't get a good asset for Ant this summer, or this season at latest, then we likely never will.
 
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Phatguysrule said:
If your best player sucks at defense it sets the tone for everyone else. Being one of the worst defenders in the league with his athleticism is just lack of caring.

Anyway. I'd take a future projected lotto pick for him if we can't get a good forward in return (which seems unlikely). I feel the same about Grant.
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So why then do you believe he is our best player?
 
I agree that Ant could be a solid defender; he's a world class athlete. It's never been asked of him evidently. Zero accountability. Incredible shooting is the most in-demand talent in the NBA so he has been tasked with perfecting that aspect of his game.
 
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