Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons hasn't been off to the best of starts in the newest campaign. After shooting 9-of-22 in the Blazers' season opener, he proceeded to shoot 5-17 in back-to-back games, which both ended in two-point victories over the Phoenix Suns and the LeBron James-led Los Angeles Lakers.
But the 23-year old guard came to life in a big way during the third quarter of their latest game against the Denver Nuggets. After scoring only seven points on 3-of-6 shooting in the first half, Simons exploded for 22 points to open the second half, going 8-of-9 from the field and 6-of-7 from deep, including some insane makes from deep 3-point range.
And LeBron James loved every bit of Simons' barrage from beyond the arc.
“Anfernee Simmons is on 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥,” James wrote. Funnily enough, LeBron was quick to notice his error in spelling Simons' surname, and quickly rectified his mistake. “*Simons. My bad bruh! Anyways you are 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥”
Anfernee Simons' third quarter onslaught blew the game open for the Blazers, spearheading a 44-25 outburst that gave Portland a lead they did not relinquish. Overall, Simons tallied 29 points and five assists on the night, leading the Blazers to a dominant 135-110 victory over the Nuggets.
As for LeBron James, well, the Blazers love Anfernee Simons so much that the Lakers won't be able to squeeze their name into trade talks for the fifth-year guard anytime soon. The Blazers just locked up Simons to a four-year, $100 million deal this past offseason, immediately erasing his name from any links to the Lakers for the foreseeable future.
However, seeing Simons drain difficult 3-pointers with ease might have given LeBron a sense of envy, what with the Lakers' collection of putrid outside shooters. The Lakers, through their first three games, have made only 8.3 threes on a despicable 39.3 attempts per night (21.2 percent), with Russell Westbrook being the chief scapegoat thus far for the Lakers' struggles.
The Lakers aside, the Blazers are off to an impressive 4-0 start to the season, with wins coming over Western Conference contenders such as the Suns and the Nuggets. Damian Lillard's abdominal issues seem to be a thing of the past, having followed up his 41-point explosions in consecutive close wins with a 31-point effort. And with Anfernee Simons rounding into form, the Blazers could conceivably become one of the more unsung threats in the NBA as the season progresses.