On Sunday night, Anfernee Simons erupted.
In the third quarter, he had 24 points on 8-of-9 shooting — including five three-pointers — and tossed in three dimes for good measure to help the Blazers hold pace with the Mavericks in a high-scoring affair. Based on that quarter, it would be safe to assume he eclipsed 30 points in the game, which is reasonable to expect 40, and it is not far-fetched to think he could have hit 50.
Spectacular 3Q from Anfernee Simons:
🔥 24 PTS
🔥 8-10 FGM
🔥 5 3PM
🔥 3 AST@trailblazers down 3 headed to the 4th! pic.twitter.com/E8aSTuv8bH— NBA (@NBA) December 2, 2024
But Portland’s longest-tenured player finished with just 27 points. Outside of the third quarter, Simons had one three-point make two minutes into the game, plus one other three-point attempt and that was it.
Due to foul trouble, Anfernee only played 23 minutes. In the second quarter, he recorded three fouls in one minute and ten seconds. After sitting the rest of the half with four fouls, he entered the third quarter fresh, which showed.
That game against Dallas was a microcosm of Simons’ season and his current standing as an offensive player. He’s a bipolar scorer who should be leaning on his shooting capabilities, hampered by the Blazers’ system and the expectations being placed on him.
Struggling to Find a Groove
On offense, Anfernee can go entire games without finding any rhythm. In November, he had four games where he scored in the single digits (excluding the Timberwolves game, where he was removed with an illness). When the Blazers use him like they did Damian Lillard as the primary ball handler and assume the role of conducting the entire offense, it stagnates his game.
In the NBA Cup match against the Houston Rockets — the first of a back-to-back with Houston — the Blazers came out using him as the initiator. It was his first game returning from illness, so Simons was timid and pass-happy. In the first quarter, he had two turnovers and was 0/1 from the field. Chauncey took him out early.
This early stretch bogged down his confidence, and once the Rockets pulled away early in the game, it was over for Simons. In 21 minutes, he finished 2-7 from the field and 1-3 from three.
Attacking with Purpose
The very next night, it was obvious that, even if it wasn’t going to be effective, Anfernee would force his shot. Portland was playing in the same scheme, with Simons bringing the ball up the court and initiating the offense off of screens for him. He was assertive, but, for the most part, he wasn’t getting good looks.
That trickled into the second quarter, where he attempted four three-pointers but went 1-4. His three misses were isolated step-backs. His one make was a catch-and-shoot on a crafty slip screen.
Portland’s defense kept them in the game all the way till the fourth. At that point, Simons had played seven straight quarters of clunky or uninspired offensive basketball. But in a tight game, because he had established himself with confidence earlier, the ‘Anferno’ went off. In the final seven minutes, he scored 13 of Portland’s final 21 points while draping by the lengthy Amen Thomspon to secure a morale-boosting win for the Blazers.
The flurries like the ones seen at the end of the Rockets game or in the third quarter of the Mavs game are what make fans and coaches think that Anfernee can be the go-to option from the point guard position every night for entire games, but that’s just not what he is. At least right now.
What he is right now is one of the best catch-and-shoot-three players in the league. If the Blazers can stick with an offense that moves the ball fluidly and utilizes Anfernee as an off-ball threat, it will not only generate better three-point looks for him, but with defenders having to respect his shot, it will open up driving lanes and space overall for the rest of his teammates.
Once he’s got a rhythm going, you have Anferno as a game-sealing weapon later in the game. However, he can’t simply be a flamethrower once every eight quarters and ineffective the other seven if he and the Blazers want to succeed.
Scheming to Simons’ Strengths
Billups has recently been implementing new offensive looks to better suit Simons’ and the rest of the team’s playstyle. He’s utilizing the other ball handlers, Deni Avdija, Dalano Banton and Shaedon Sharpe.
The offense places two of the aforementioned ball handlers at the top of the court, with the center running a high pick-and-roll. The handler has the roll-man, a nearside-corner three-point shooter to pass to, or a lane to drive.
In the clip below, Toumani clears out for Banton to take advantage of the mismatch to score on Gafford. Anfernee Simons sits in the bottom corner. With Quentin Grimes having to respect him as a shooter, he can never be a help defender on Banton.
Scoot Henderson has been sidelined the past few games, but once he returns, it will be critical to the two guards’ ability to coexist to run this offense with both of them on the court.
The Blazers have tons of talent right now, and they’re slowly figuring out how to make all of it work together. Anfernee Simons is the current face of the franchise, and even with all the trade rumors thrown in his face, he’s working hard to try and fit the baby-Dame mold like fans want. But it will take a long time for that to happen, if ever.
Portland should play to his strengths instead.
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