I knew he wasn’t the one when he couldn’t help Damian Lillard whatsover. Even Cj McCollum was technically having winning seasons with Dame.
Fucking A. I've seen so many all-stars with crappy shooting percentages, but Ant scores a lot, and is efficient. I'm open to the idea that his overdribbling hurts the team, but I need to see stats (such as Ant +/- vs. Team +/-) to back up that claim, instead just typing in the word "dribble" over and over again, and using inflammatory thread titles. Until proven otherwise, he has no net problems on the offensive side of the ball. The question is defense. Is his defense so bad that he is a net negative? It's a compelling question, that again I'd like to see argued with actual stats. Without delving deeply into that question, the simplest solution to the Ant conundrum is to bring him off the bench. Trading him seems dubious since it appears that his value to the team is higher than his value around the league. If I'm wrong and he does have value, then I'd be happy to trade him when we have superstar potential currently coming off the bench at Ant's position.
Give him a year. This is his first year without a monster usage guy in Dame next to him. There's no urgency here, he's on an okay contract and Scoot/Sharpe will get plenty of minutes this season regardless. If Cronin races to make moves the marketplace will sniff it out pretty clearly and he'll end up getting less. I know the last few weeks were fun with lots of moves, and I know folks want the next era to start as soon as possible. The reality is that there will be an interim period, always. That might mean Grant, RW3, Brogdon, Ant, move along. Or don't. This year is going to be about evaluating what the next core is. That doesn't mean everyone needs 15 shots a night and 34mpg 'immediately.' The west is so good this year that the Blazers will probably be a lottery team at around the deadline anyway.
What do you base that on? I mean has he ever alluded to that in any way? Usually, the players who don't want to come off the bench are those who want a big payday (he already got his) and those who think they are better than the person starting ahead of them. Right now Ant probably needs to start, but once it becomes obvious that the team is better off with him coming off the bench then I don't think he is the type of player who would pout. To be clear just because he comes off the bench doesn't mean he would not play in crunch time. That should be determined on a game-by-game basis.
well, last year, Grant and Brogdon. And at least they aren't giant sieves on defense teams do need shooters, that's true. But it isn't the case that those shooters have to lead the team in minutes, usage, and FGA. If Portland, without Ant, struggles from a lack of perimeter shooting...well shit, it's a rebuild anyway and it gives the Blazers a better template for what they need going forward. The notion that Portland has to accept all of the flaws Ant has as a starter, while also making him the #1 option no less, just because he hits three's at an above average rate is bogus IIRC, you have called me an Ant-hater...or maybe it was somebody else, no biggie. I'm not an Ant hater. What I hate is that for the 9th straight fucking year the Blazers are going to try to jamb a short square peg into the round hole at SG. It has failed for 8 years in a row. It won't succeed on the 9th try, IMO. But I guess losses are as good, or better, than wins for Portland this season
It’s not a worry. It’s a problem that they need to work through. Billups has basically said that he’s just gonna let them figure it out. That’s gonna take some time.
My eyes tell me a different story. There is no way you can convince me that these two are better outside shooters than Ant.....despite what their stats are. Other factors play into it. Maybe Ant should just catch and shoot like them, but sometimes there is a need to create their own shot. Neither Grant nor Brogodon can do that from beyond the arc as well as Ant. For the record, I think he should eventually come off the bench once Sharpe is ready.
If Scoot and Simons are auditioning for leadership role, Scoot is already six assists ahead. I think Scoot will establish himself as charismatic leader by December, and Simons will be in a more practical battle with Shaedon for starting SG duties. I’m not worried; Clyde didn’t start at first either (he wasn’t a regular starter until his third year). Shaedon has to grow and he’ll get the minutes to do so, but probably not until later in the season. He’s gotta earn it with positive impact. Billups is old school like that.
The way I see it, Scoot has pushed Ant out of any consideration for being the starting point guard. As long as Brogdon is on the team, he shouldn’t see any backup PG minutes either. He’s currently slated as the starting SG. It’s up to Sharpe to try to push Ant out of that spot. He’s definitely got the physical tools to do it, but I don’t think he’s shown the drive yet to make it happen as of now. He can get pretty complacent when he’s on the court.
"Hate to be that guy," lol... EDIT: I agree (to some extent, I haven't given up hope on him yet) with your premise, btw.
Who's stats on this team will actually matter though. Who's stats on ANY non playoff team matters? Shit Westbrook averaged a triple double on a playoff team and this place said it didn't matter.
ok...last season, 68.4% of Ant's three's were assisted; 66.1% of Brogdon's three's were assisted; 97% of Grant's were assisted (51.6% of Dame's three's were assisted). So, yeah, Grant relies on the team to get him those catch&shoot and spot-up opportunities. But Brogdon created 34% of this three's while shooting 44.4%. Ant created 31% of his three.s while shooting 37.7%. Pretty significant difference even after factoring Ant's higher volume the one issue with those numbers is I can't tell what their actual shooting percentages were when they created for themselves vs the team creating the shot opportunities. But there was enough of a gap in overall three efficiency I have to conclude Brogdon was better at creating his own three's the 'yeah-but' to that is Brogdon has been pretty inconsistent year by year, but I'm thinking that was due to health. He's had trouble staying healthy one thing to keep in mind about Ant: basically, as his minutes and 3ptFGA have climbed, his 3ptFG% has dropped. His overall FG% has climbed because he's become better at two's. His overall TS% has dropped because he hasn't increased his FT Rate as much as his FGA and usage but that's just another pretty solid indication that Ant's best role would be a 25-28 minute/game 6th man
Cronin needs tankers. He needs pro non-Allstar starters that are cool with faking injuries so the Blazers can lose on purpose near the end of the season. starter A) Simons "missed" final 19 games of the 2022 season. Blazers lost as much as possible. Drafted #7 Sharpe. Simons "missed" final 11 games of 2023 season. Blazers lost as much as possible. Drafted #3 Scoot. starter B) Grant "missed" final 8 games in 2021 season. Pistons lost as much as possible. Drafted... #1 Cade ?? I think Grant "missed" final 9 games of 2022 season. (plus a handful of previous games). Pistons lost as much as possible. Drafted #4 Ivey. Grant "missed" final 14 games of 2023 season. Blazers lost as much as possible. Drafted #3 Scoot. starter C) Lillard "missed" final 10 games of 2023 season. Blazers lost as much as possible. Drafted #3 Scoot. *important note* - Lillard absolutely freaked out about losing on purpose. Questioned Portland's sportsmanship. So Damian asked to be traded. The Blazers eventually found a new team for Damian to play for that won't lose games on purpose. (Milwaukee) starter D) Ayton ?? speculation "missed" final (X) games of 2024 season. Blazers lose as much as possible. Draft # 1-8 long story short, Anfernee & Grant and maybe Ayton won't have a cow when Cronin & Billups need to finish the season losing games on purpose to elevate higher draft percentages. under the new CBA, All-Star players cannot "fake injuries" so their team can lose on purpose. Lillard had to be traded for the Blazers end of season tank to operate correctly. Followed immediately by All-Star Jrue Holiday being traded to avoid the same circumstance.
Zzzzz, oh look everyone, Simons is now the new scapegoat everyone will be complaining about. Soon to be Ayton as the season goes on, this forum does what it does best, complain
I consider Simons and Sharpe to be the same kind of players. Flashy, talented, explosive—but not smart enough or disciplined enough to be great all-around players. I think Sharpe is going to be a bust. He’s probably already hit his ceiling.
