Portland Trail Blazers backup point guard Anfernee Simons received an opportunity to run the team during Monday night’s 107-93 preseason loss to Sacramento at the Moda Center, and he did not disappoint coach Chauncey Billups.
With Damian Lillard (rest) and CJ McCollum (ankle sprain) sidelined, Simons started at point guard, played 31 minutes, led the team with 24 points and in the process successfully ran the offense, Billups said.
The main negatives were that the former first-round pick (2018) shot poorly on threes (1 of 9) and had just one assist. However, the last thing Billups is worried about with Simons is his shooting. Also, the lack of assists could be attributed to a shortage of strong scorers on the floor given that the team was down eight players.
“I thought Ant was really good,” Billups said. “He continues to make strides and stay aggressive. I want him to always be confident. Some nights those shots aren’t going to be falling. But just him being aggressive and getting to spots that he wants to get to, and playmaking, I just want him to always be confident. I thought he was really good tonight.”
Simons is being asked to be the primary backup point guard this season. In the team’s first preseason game, he put up 10 points and six assists with zero turnovers. He had four turnovers Monday night in a game that saw the Blazers commit 27.
“I think I did all right,” Simons said. “Obviously, I made a couple of mistakes, but it was a perfect time to kind of make those mistakes and kind of play through it. So, obviously, I think I could have shot the three better, but there’s going to be nights like that.”
Although he shot poorly on threes, Simons made 7 of 11 two-point shots, including several on drives to the basket, an area of his game he has been working on.
“The best thing was that I was able to get to the paint and kind of make plays through there,” Simons said. “So, that shows a little bit of growth with where my game stands now.”
-- Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook).
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