Anfernee Simons Articles - Page 5

The Portland Trail Blazers’ surprising recent surge sans Damian Lillard, thankfully, may not prevent them from making a major deal at the trade deadline after all. According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, the New Orleans Pelicans have shown interest in acquiring C.J. McCollum leading up to February 10th. Portland would reportedly receive a package […]

The Portland Trail Blazers fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves 109-107 on Tuesday night, their crunch-time rally spoiled by D’Angelo Russell’s tie-breaking layup past Anfernee Simons with 2.9 seconds remaining. Simons had the chance to send his team to a walk-off win on the game’s next possession, but his tough chance from three caromed off the […]

The trade deadline is less than three weeks away, and the Portland Trail Blazers’ stunning recent turnaround doesn’t change what’s been obvious since Neil Olshey was dismissed in early December. Even with Damian Lillard fully re-committed to Rip City, interim general manager Joe Cronin and the Blazers are poised to be among the most active […]

The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Toronto Raptors 114-105 at Scotiabank Arena on Sunday, closing out a long, arduous road trip by building a 30-point lead and almost squandering it before the final buzzer. The victory moves the Blazers 20-26 on the season, including a stunning 4-2 since they last took the floor in Rip […]

The Portland Trail Blazers earned one of their most impressive wins of the regular season on Friday, beating the Boston Celtics 109-105 at TD Garden. The win is Portland’s fourth in six games, all of which have come without Damian Lillard. Anfernee Simons continued staking his claim as one of basketball’s most intriguing young guards, […]

C.J. McCollum poured in 20 first-half points against the Miami Heat on Wednesday, knocking down tough jumpers from all over the floor en route to 8-of-11 shooting and 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. His performance was a ringing endorsement of not just McCollum’s conditioning after spending six weeks on the sideline, but just how dangerous […]

The Portland Trail Blazers squandered an otherwise admirable and competitive effort with a dismal fourth quarter on Wednesday night, falling to the Miami Heat 104-92 at FTX Arena. Chauncey Billups’ team scored just 12 points in the final period, shooting 5-of-23 from the field as Miami amped up its defensive intensity even further. The Blazers […]

The Portland Trail Blazers moved to 2-1 during a crucial six-game road trip on Monday, beating the bottom-dwelling Orlando Magic 98-88 in a convincing win not nearly as close as the final score suggests. C.J. McCollum played for the first time since December 4th, back on the floor after recovering from a collapsed right lung […]

Anfernee Simons continued staking his claim as a cog of the Portland Trail Blazers’ present and future on Saturday night, playing the half of basketball of his life. He cooled off after a scintillating first two quarters that included 26 points and seven triples, but made his impact keenly felt regardless as the Washington Wizards […]

The still-depleted Portland Trail Blazers used one of their most well-balanced performances of the season to earn a rare road win Saturday, beating the Washington Wizards 115-110 in the nation’s capital. The Blazers’ victory was just their third away from home all season and moves them to 17-25 overall, still tenth in the Western Conference. […]

The Portland Trail Blazers’ season just keeps on taking hit after hit this season. Injuries, COVID-19 woes, and ownership drama has plagued this team all year long. After a disappointing first-round exit against the Denver Nuggets, fans wanted this team to bounce back. Instead, they seem to have regressed further. The latest blow to their […]

Anfernee Simons needed 24 shots to score 23 points in his depleted team’s stunning 114-108 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night at Moda Center. Don’t fret about that inefficiency, though. For yet another game while moonlighting as the Portland Trail Blazers undisputed lead ball-handler, Simons lived up to the sky-high potential that’s made […]

The Brooklyn Nets seem like they need a break. At least most of them. Ten dudes at once in health and safety protocols about a month ago, bringing back Kyrie Irving part-time and whatever distraction that sparked, and now James Harden dinging up his knee a little bit are just some of the issues this […]

The depleted Portland Trail Blazers pulled off one of the most stunning wins of the regular season on Monday, beating Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets 114-108 at Moda Center for a second straight victory. Playing without starting guards Damian Lillard (abdominal tendinopathy-injury management), C.J. McCollum (right lung pneuomthorax) and Norman Powell (health-and-safety […]

There’s a possibility Damian Lillard returns to the court in a few days after seeking further consultation for abdominal tendinopathy. It seems only a matter of time until C.J. McCollum suits up again, now fully healed from a collapsed right lung that’s caused him to miss a full month of the regular season. Even if […]

Anfernee Simons played the game of his life with a heavy heart. The Portland Trail Blazers guard poured in a career-high 43 points and doled out seven assists in his team’s thrilling 136-131 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night, going toe to toe with Trae Young as an injured Damian Lillard watched from […]

Anfernee Simons had a night to remember Monday, as he stepped up and led the Portland Trail Blazers to a 136-131 home win against the visiting Atlanta Hawks. Simons was a man possessed in that game, finishing the contest with a career-high 43 points, powered by a red-hot 9/16 shooting from behind the arc. Following […]

The Portland Trail Blazers are poised to get a much-needed boost ahead of this week’s crucial four-game homestand at Moda Center. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups has cleared health-and-safety protocols and is set to be on the sidelines on Monday night against the Atlanta Hawks. Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey […]

Chauncey Billups touched on the pitfalls of Damian Lillard’s abdominal tendinopathy well before it was officially announced the Portland Trail Blazers superstar would be sidelined for at least the next 10 days. Lillard was clearly more affected by his nagging core injury than normal during Portland’s blowout loss to the Utah Jazz on Monday. He […]

If Friday night’s game against the Golden State Warriors was a test of their ability to compete with basketball’s best teams, most every indication suggests that the Portland Trail Blazers failed. The league-leading Warriors beat the Blazers 118-103 at Chase Center, using a balanced scoring attack and dogged team-wide defense to send Portland to another […]

All offseason long, rumors were running rampant about the Portland Trail Blazers and the future of franchise star Damian Lillard. Many thought he would end up being traded, but the Blazers were able to keep him in town. Since then, Lillard has made it very clear that he is still loyal to Portland, but that […]

The Portland Trail Blazers lost their fifth straight road game to open the regular season on Friday, falling to the LA Clippers 117-109 at Staples Center. After the game, Chauncey Billups bemoaned his team’s penchant for losing focus on defense away from the friendly confines of Moda Center, remarks echoed by Damian Lillard. The numbers, […]

Anfernee Simons introduced to himself a global audience at last season’s All-Star Weekend, living up to years of local hype by being crowned champion of the slam dunk contest. But what Portland Trail Blazers fans have always known about Simons was surely surprising to those who’d only grown familiar with him from his stunning aerial […]

The Portland Trail Blazers followed up a depressing three-game losing streak with a pair of wins at Moda Center in just over 24 hours. Ten games into the regular season, Chauncey Billups’ team is 5-5, enduring not only completely unforeseen struggles of its best player, but an ongoing investigation into allegations of workplace misconduct against […]

Chauncey Billups wasn’t most frustrated by the Cleveland Cavaliers canning 15 threes en route to 50 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Jarrett Allen’s “monster” 24-point night didn’t draw much ire from the rookie head coach, either. What really left Billups displeased after the Portland Trail Blazers’ loss to the short-handed Cavaliers on Wednesday was […]

The Portland Trail Blazers are heading home to Rip City winless following Wednesday’s disappointing 107-104 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, finishing a quick Eastern Conference road trip 0-3. Here are three key takeaways from another frustrating Blazers defeat. The Wrong Kind of Dame Time Lillard’s fingerprints were all over crunch-time…just not in the way Rip […]

The Portland Trail Blazers squandered a seven-point halftime lead on Sunday, falling to the Charlotte Hornets 125-113 on the first leg of a tough Eastern Conference back-to-back. Here are three takeaways from the Blazers’ Halloween loss to Charlotte, one highlighted by another sinister shooting night from Damian Lillard. Porous Second-Half Defense Portland got control of […]

Almost two weeks into the regular season, the Portland Trail Blazers have been arguably the most volatile team in the NBA. At 3-2 following a pair of impressive double-digit victories over Western Conference playoff hopefuls, though, there’s plenty of reason for optimism in Rip City. Here are three overreactions for Portland based on its first […]

Spurred by an utterly dominant second-half performance on both sides of the ball, the Portland Trail Blazers routed the Memphis Grizzlies 116-96 on Wednesday night at Moda Center. Here are four positives from the Blazers’ impressive victory, which moves them to 2-2 for the 2021-22 season. The Entire Second Half Portland trailed 57-51 at halftime, […]

Portland Trail Blazers’ Anfernee Simons has set the record straight with what he expects from Chauncey Billups as a coach. In his fourth year in the league, Blazers’ Anfernee Simons got the chance to be mentored by NBA legend Chauncey Billups, who is now head coaching for the first time since his retirement. As the […]

PORTLAND — The Portland Trail Blazers got both their first win of the regular season and the Chauncey Billups era in rousing fashion on Saturday night, blowing out the Phoenix Suns 134-105 at Moda Center. Here are four takeaways from Portland’s dominant victory over the reigning Western Conference champions, a game every bit as lopsided as […]

A popular internal talking point from the Portland Trail Blazers before the regular season was the success of their incumbent starting lineup. Whether a subliminal message to Damian Lillard as he pondered leaving Rip City or just more general justification for bringing the band back together, Neil Olshey, Chauncey Billups and even some players championed […]

PORTLAND, Ore. —The clock ran out on the Portland Trail Blazers’ spirited fourth-quarter comeback against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night, with Damian Lillard’s would-be game-tying triple as time expired landing just off the mark. The Blazers fell to the Kings 124-121, a final score that’s hardly an indication of just how much Chauncey Billups’ […]

Candidacy for individual awards couldn’t be further from the Portland Trail Blazers’ minds as they prepare to host the Sacramento Kings. But just because Chauncey Billups, Damian Lillard and company are singularly focused on the task at hand doesn’t mean Blazers fans have better ways to kill time before tipoff of Wednesday night’s game than […]

There’s still time for the Portland Trail Blazers to sign Anfernee Simons to a contract extension. The league-wide deadline to ink fourth-year players still on their rookie contracts to an extension is October 18th, two days before Simons and the Blazers host the Sacramento Kings at Moda Center in the 2021-22 season opener. But the […]

There’s only so much to glean from any preseason basketball game, but especially the Portland Trail Blazers’ exhibition finale. Damian Lillard isn’t playing on Friday night against the Golden State Warriors, and Chauncey Billups, remember, sees all preseason games as nothing more than a glorified extension of training camp practices anyway. No matter what happens […]

PORTLAND — The Portland Trail Blazers tipoff the regular season against the Sacramento Kings back at Moda Center next week, but don’t expect Monday’s game—fortunately for Chauncey Billups’ team—to prove a barbinger for the 2021-22 opener. Here are four observations from the short-handed Blazers’ 107-93 loss to the Kings. Anfernee Simons (Kind Of) Looked The […]

Damian Lillard knew there was something different about Anfernee Simons when the Portland Trail Blazers superstar saw a photo of his young teammate this summer. Suddenly, it was obvious. Simons, ink-less over the first three seasons of his NBA career, had a half sleeve tattoo on his left arm—another step in the 22-year-old’s ongoing growth […]

Anfernee Simons enters 2021-22 coming off a relative breakout season, at least when accounting for the gravity of his struggles over his first two years in the NBA. Fully established as a rotation player with the Portland Trail Blazers now, rookie coach Chauncey Billups is finally affording Simons the opportunity to prove his bona fides […]