After green Kai formed the big three and successfully won the championship that year, the NBA League opened an era of stars hugging the group to warm up, but not all stars will choose such a shortcut, Portland Trail Blazers leader Lillard has repeatedly publicly stated that he will not choose to form a luxurious lineup with other stars for the championship, but after several consecutive seasons of poor playoff performance, the offseason before the start of the new season, Lillard also had a heart, and the military was shaken is also the reason for the Blazers' poor performance. Recently, the team has suffered a serious wave of injuries, the three musketeers Lillard, McCollum and Powell can not play, so that the team's combat effectiveness declines significantly, but the opportunity is left to those who are prepared, Simmons seized the opportunity of Lillard's absence, a good proof of his ability, in this regular season, the Blazers challenged the Wizards away, Simmons continued the recent hot state, a person hit 7 three-pointers in the first half, under his leadership the Blazers led the opponent by 18 points at most, In the final four quarters, they also beat the Wizards 115-110, ending the latter's three-game winning streak!
Although the Wizards' new season playoff prospects were once looked down upon by the outside world after sending Westbrook away in the offseason, under the leadership of three Lakers veterans Kuzma, Harrell and Pope, they played a very eye-catching performance at the beginning of the season, ranking at the top of the Eastern Conference standings, although as the season progressed, their record slipped and the ranking also fell to the edge of the playoffs, but with Kuzma's outstanding performance, they achieved a wave of three consecutive wins and re-entered the top eight in the East.
But in this game with the Blazers, Kuzma's personal performance did not meet expectations, the first half is difficult to get the opportunity to shoot, which is also the reason why the Wizards fell into a big score behind early, the Second Half wizards woke up like a dream, gave Kuzma more opportunities to shoot, but it was too late to stage a big reversal, Kuzma hit 7 goals in 18 shots, contributing 16 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks.
Now Lillard has missed many games, in his absence of the first game with the Hawks, Simmons ushered in a big outbreak, a person cut 43 points to lead the team to beat the opponent, and then faced the Kings Simmons soared 31 points, this battle against the Wizards, Simmons is still the most threatening strong point on the offensive end of the Blazers, In the 40.2 minutes of his appearance, 21 shots hit 11 goals, including 7 of 14 three-pointers, contributing a double-double of 31 points and 11 assists, which is also the reason why many fans ridiculed after the game, Simmons's excellent performance made fans forget Lillard, under his tandem organization, the Blazers scored a total of 5 players in double figures, of which Nurkic propped up the team's interior line, got 23 points and 14 rebounds, and played an excellent performance of one inside and one outside, laying a solid foundation for the Blazers to win this game.
Judging from the overall performance of the Blazers this season, it is very difficult for them to reach the playoffs in the West, and the rise of Simmons undoubtedly gives the team management more room to operate, if Lillard insists on leaving after the end of the season, they choose Simmons as the core of the team, and if They can keep Lillard, the team can use Simmons to exchange for super-strong new signings to enhance the team's combat effectiveness!