Completely disagree. I've never seen Ant get low and eat a guy up defensively, take the rock, or even really force an incredibly tough shot. Dame does that in critical situations. And Dame gets twice as many rebounds, which is part of good defense. I get the Dame hate. People got their feelings hurt, whatever. And he's not a good defender. But he's much better at basically everything than Ant.
Also, Dame is surprisingly good in the post against bigger players when he decides to play defense (not always). Dame is certainly a better defender than Ant. I am not going to call him a good defender, but he can actually be decent when he tries (which was not that often, for a good reason, in Portland).
you can make that argument for winshare/48 and BPM. Not for any of the efficiency stats. Personally, I don't believe it's a very strong argument because those stats have been normalized: the league average winshare/48 is .100. Ant's career mark is only .051. And his best mark was .078 on the 2020-21 Blazers that went 42-30. So, even on a 'solid' playoff team, Ant, in his 3rd season, couldn't come close to the league average. As for his BPM, his career mark is -1.5. Last season, in Ant's best season, he barely climbed into positive territory with a 0.2 mark I know you really like Ant and want him to be a Blazer long-term.Obviously I don't and I'm not alone. Again, Ant is probably a bit above average as a player. He's probably below average among NBA starters. Now, that is just an 'informed' guess. But part of that 'informed' is the reality there are two ends of the floor and on one of those ends, he's a disaster
Bro, this I what I’m talking about when I said Ant\Grant and in this present case Ant mainly is going into every thread and it’s mainly the same peeps repeating the same thing and it’s old and tiresome now by many. can we just make this thread about training camp gezz, is that hard to ask for?
Yeah, didn't have enough talent and didn't have anything left to trade that was worth enough to bring in enough talent. Fucking Olshey...
lol...you say the same things in thread after thread. And while other posters are criticizing Simons, you spend a lot of time criticizing the people who are criticizing Simons pot, meet kettle
That shit got old a while back bro, how long you guys going to keep repeating yourself over and over before you get fed up? Haven’t you seen many other posters are fed up too by now? And secondly, I was debunking a lot of this crap guys were throwing out like Ant’s usage was taking away from Scoot and Sharpe with facts and your little “stats” you like to post to back up your arguments are a joke imo. you can go back to running in circles over and over, it was made clear that Ant/Grant talks wouldn’t spill into other threads by a Mod, but here we are talking about this stuff again in a training camp thread that hasn’t nothing to do with what you guys are talking about with Ant and Grant
As you know I prefer if he comes off the bench. But that is an entirely different topic because it is more about the cap IMO. I have seen Ant play D on occasion so I see no reason why he can't improve. He looks to have gotten stronger every year, now weighing in at 195 which is only 5 pounds lighter than Sharpe and Thybulle. Good length for his size (6'9" + wing span) and is a solid athlete. (Yes I know he lacks the defensive instincts of Tisse) They brought in some defensive-minded assistant coaches. They need to earn their money. Why do I like him so much? When the game is on the line, he is way above average among starters in getting you a basket. One of the top 3-level scorers the Blazers have had in a while. He has so many different shots he can make. Dame was the master of the clutch 3 and he was willing to attack the basket to draw a foul. But Simons is right behind him with his midrange pull-up, the floater, the hook shot, the 3. Who else on the team can do that? Hopefully Shae at some point.
Worst thing for Ant's defense was playing behind CJ and Dame for his first several years. They are both horrible defenders. Ant is about as one-dimensional as there is. He is a scorer and that's it. The reason Ant is not valued more is the same reason as Jamal Crawford, all they can do is score. Period. No defense, no rebounding, no playmaking or passing, no leadership whether vocally or in actions, no killer instinct. The best role for Ant is coming off the bench next to a taller, unselfish PG on a team where he has the green light all the time, with good defenders surrounding him. The best player on a team has to have more than one elite level attribute and Ant doesn't. I think the only reason Ant could be considered that guy is because nobody else on this team is either.
lol...you didn't "debunk" anything this forum is about the Blazers. This thread is about the Blazers training camp. Ant/Grant are Blazers; they participated in the training camp press conference; they will be there for training camp. There have been rumors about them being shopped, especially Grant. Talking about Ant/Grant is definitely on topic, whether you like it or not. Talking about their potential return from a trade is on topic. Talking about their strengths and weaknesses is on topic. Talking about their skills and flaws is on topic. You don't have to participate in all of the discussions a thread like this will generate. And you're capable of putting posters on ignore if what they say bugs you
I don’t understand that thinking. They play different positions. They want help in order to win. The Lakers didn’t trade Kareem after drafting Magic. Wade didn’t complain about LeBron coming to Miami. He wanted it.
Super hard to win with a short non generational shoot first pg that plays 0 defense as your best player.
Which is what differentiates those players from others, making them championship winners and HOF’ers. KAT nor Simons will sniff either , IMO.
