Contract year, bet a bet, maybe you can really change the bicycle into a motorcycle...
Before 2022, Anfinny Simmons has no sense of existence, even in Portland, he is also the most inconspicuous one, the Blazers like to hoard guards, but also like to play three guards, but in Lillard, CJ McCollum, and Norman Powell, Simmons can only play the role of a waiting player forever, so in 3 years, his data has not changed much, a 7-8 points, and then grab 1-2 rebounds, give 1-2 assists, and that's it.
Even so, Simmons arrogantly declined the Blazers' application for a contract extension because he felt he had the hope of getting promoted under Billups and thus gaining greater market value.
Although at the time, fans laughed at Simmons' confidence, but now, his choice is perfectly correct, the first thing Billups did when he took office was to overthrow the tactical system of his predecessor Stotts, weaken the double-gun singles weight, and give some of the ball to other players, including Simmons, who not only increased his playing time, but also greatly increased the number of shots, and what is more unexpected is that the 3 major defenders have been injured this season, first McCollum, then Lillard, and now it is Powell's turn.
No one can use Billups, can only push Simmons to the forefront, especially after entering 2022, he not only starts the game, but also plays a superstar performance in succession.
Facing the Hawks on Jan. 4, he shot 13-of-21 and shot 9-of-16 from three-point range, with 43 points, three rebounds and seven assists.
Facing the Heat on January 6, he shot 9-of-17 and 5-of-10 from three-point range, with 28 points, 1 rebound and 7 assists.
Facing the Kings on Jan. 10, he shot 10-of-17 and 7-of-11 from three-point range, with 31 points, three rebounds and six assists.
Facing the Nets on Jan. 11, he shot 10-of-24 and 2-of-11 from three-point range, with 23 points, six rebounds and 11 assists.
Facing the Wizards on Jan. 16, he shot 11-of-21 and 7-of-14 from three-point range, scoring 31 points and 11 assists.
Since 2022, Anfinney Simmons has averaged 26.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, 8.0 assists per game, shooting 50% from the field and 42.6% from three-point range, and his performance on the court, like Lillard in the past few seasons, especially three-point shooting, is as prolific and efficient, averaging 4.5 shots per game, it is worth mentioning that unlike previous catches, Simmons now has at least 55% of three-point shots, which are created through their own dribbles, 41.2% The hit rate ranked first in the league in the same period.
In addition to the individual offense, Simmons' organizational ability should also be seen, especially when playing with Nurkic, their 1.2 points per round blocking offensive efficiency has gradually become the Blazers' ace offensive weapon, of course, Simmons not only only blocks and demolitions, his passing vision is also quite good, remember this ball?
In the game against the Kings, Simmons made a block with Nurkic in the bottom corner, and after attracting the bag clip, all thought he would hand the ball to Nurkic, who was guarding the basket and Barnes at the far end, were also so prejudged, one was about to go forward to block the crossbow machine, the other was shrinking to protect the basket, but at this moment, Simmons astutely found that sneaking along the bottom line to The little under the basket, the person to the ball, the latter directly on the basket, although Little's figure has long been blocked by Barnes, But it was the moment it was activated that it was captured by Simmons in time.
Simmons's excellent performance made fans forget About Lillard for a while, and under his leadership, the Blazers won 5 of the last 7 games, increasing their winning percentage by 5.8%, and continuing to maintain the hope of impacting the playoffs.
However, the better Simmons performs, the more worried the Blazers are, because their guard line has exploded, and the functions are highly overlapping, but no one is good at defending, and most importantly, Simmons's playing style and style of play are too similar to Lillard, who returns from injury, how should the two coexist? It is estimated that before the Blazers want to understand this problem, there will be a large number of teams, with a large contract to grab people, after all, it is Lillard's skin, who can hold back the heart.