It's barely been more than 48 hours since the Portland Trail Blazers broke up the most successful, productive backcourt in franchise history. After his sorely depleted team's stirring win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night, though, Chauncey Billups implored fans in Rip City to dream of new possibilities awaiting the Blazers with a guard tandem of Anfernee Simons and Damian Lillard.

Simons scored 25 of his team-high 29 points in the second half of Portland's 107-105 victory, out-playing LeBron James and Anthony Davis despite his largely anonymous, inexperienced supporting cast. He drained five triples and made his way to the rim for three layups after intermission, proving too skilled with the jumper and explosive off the bounce for the Lakers to stop him.

Simons' biggest bucket came with 1:50 remaining, a ridiculous, stop-and-pop three in transition after another steal from Dennis Smith Jr. that pushed the Blazers' lead to 105-100.

“As far as Ant being able to close-out games, this is just very valuable time for him,” Billups said. “If you can just imagine having him and Dame out there, the pressure it puts on other teams. You wanna get Ant to a point to where he is very comfortable making plays out there, in pick-and-rolls, he made some good passes even late when they took him away. This is invaluable, it really is, the time he's getting to close these tough games out.”

The thrill of Wednesday's win notwithstanding, Portland fans won't have much to get excited about over the season's remainder. The Blazers are unabashedly sacrificing the present for the future, likely putting off Lillard's return until next fall while playing their way out of the postseason.

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Even most of the intriguing young players poised to comprise this team's new, long-term core won't be on the floor over the next two months. Nassir Little is out for the season after undergoing surgery for a torn labrum in his left shoulder, and Portland's prospective pair of lottery picks won't be made until July 29th.

Much as Trendon Watford's improved since being forced into the lineup and Greg Brown III's boundless energy and vertical pop tantalize, there's a chance neither rookie is in Billups' rotation come tipoff of 2022-23. But Simons is one building block who will play completely unencumbered as his team effectively tanks for draft position, continuing to explore his limits as a primary scorer and ball-handler.

By trading McCollum, the Blazers finally admitted they couldn't win big while being so reliant on an undersized, offense-first backcourt that poses inevitable defensive challenges. The Lillard-Simons tandem isn't much different from Portland's previous one in those broad respects.

The unknown can beg hopeful optimism, though, and Simons continued making sure there will be plenty of it in Rip City going forward with another eye-opening performance on Wednesday night.