How do we get Simons more minutes?

Welcome to our community

Be a part of something great, join today!

Register Log in
illmatic99

illmatic99

formerly yuyuza1
Joined
Sep 16, 2008
Messages
57,810
Likes
56,339
Points
113
He's not doing much more than score right now, but he looks more comfortable each game. Now is the time during the season to see what he's got and let him make more mistakes, but Terry seems to have a quick hook with him. He's lost on defense frequently, but the only way for him to learn is to play. Scoring wise, he looks so smooth and reminds me exactly of Lou Williams.

I think the rotation now is for Ant to get PG minutes whenever Dame sits, and on occasion he plays WITH Dame. But 17 mpg is just too few I feel.

Can we play him at SF next to Dame/CJ for a few minutes?
 
*knock on wood* don't spite me universe and cause an injury.
 
Id love to see Ant go against both CJ & Dame in a practice scrimmage.
 
TBpup said:
He needs to get more just so Dame isn't playing 38 minutes a night.
Click to expand...
Don't really mind Dame's early re-entry in the fourth the last few games (as it seems situational), but feel like we could get away with taking him out earlier in the first. He can come out along with CJ around the 3-5 min mark of the first and let Ant cook with Baze at his side.

Given Simons' scoring skill, it seems criminal to not even have him out there for 20-24 mpg, even with all his other weaknesses.
 
illmatic99 said:
He's not doing much more than score right now, but he looks more comfortable each game. Now is the time during the season to see what he's got and let him make more mistakes, but Terry seems to have a quick hook with him. He's lost on defense frequently, but the only way for him to learn is to play. Scoring wise, he looks so smooth and reminds me exactly of Lou Williams.

I think the rotation now is for Ant to get PG minutes whenever Dame sits, and on occasion he plays WITH Dame. But 17 mpg is just too few I feel.

Can we play him at SF next to Dame/CJ for a few minutes?
Click to expand...
It'll never happen but on a night like last night when CJ is struggling pretty bad I'd love for Stotts to leave Simons in longer to see what he does in a close game in crunch time.

Also, Dame has been struggling in the first half of games. I hate that Stotts plays him the whole first quarter no matter what occurs on the floor. If he's not in a good flow early in the game take him out with 2-3 minutes left in the first then he gets an extra break. I don't understand playing him the whole 3rd quarter instead of more in the 4th either.

I don't think having all 3 in the game would be very good on the defensive end.
 
hoopsjock said:
It'll never happen but on a night like last night when CJ is struggling pretty bad I'd love for Stotts to leave Simons in longer to see what he does in a close game in crunch time.

Also, Dame has been struggling in the first half of games. I hate that Stotts plays him the whole first quarter no matter what occurs on the floor. If he's not in a good flow early in the game take him out with 2-3 minutes left in the first then he gets an extra break. I don't understand playing him the whole 3rd quarter instead of more in the 4th either.

I don't think having all 3 in the game would be very good on the defensive end.
Click to expand...
We keep expecting all our players to improve, but don't hold our coaches to the same. Terry is still so rigid with rotations and makes changes at such a glacial pace. Without our guard whisperer and Terry's close confidant Vanterpool on the sidelines, hopefully Terry recognizes what he has in Ant.

Dude is dripping with talent. The way he took CP/Schroeder/etc to the rim to score in multiple ways last night was just eye opening.
 
As long as Stotts is set on staggering the starters, taking CJ out earlier in the first (& third) and putting Dame in later in the second (& fourth) seems to be the most reasonable way to do it. I think we could get Ant a solid 24 mpg that way if we wanted.
 
illmatic99 said:
We keep expecting all our players to improve, but don't hold our coaches to the same. Terry is still so rigid with rotations and makes changes at such a glacial pace. Without our guard whisperer and Terry's close confidant Vanterpool on the sidelines, hopefully Terry recognizes what he has in Ant.

Dude is dripping with talent. The way he took CP/Schroeder/etc to the rim to score in multiple ways last night was just eye opening.
Click to expand...

I suspect that what you call rigid and slow to make changes - the organization calls stable and consistent - and there is something to be said about giving the players as much stability as possible - given that basketball games are volatile anyway with fouls, injuries etc... - there is an advantage to minimize chaos on the long run. They know exactly what they are having with Simons and they are bringing him slowly. I am sure they have a plan and go according to it.
 
Dame is averaging 38 mins per game and CJ 37. Safe to say you could spot some more of those minutes to Ant in the first half. But I understand we’ve been getting kicked in a lot of first halves so far.
 
Well, the easy answer is you reduce Dame and Cj minutes a bit. right now Dame is at 37.4 a game and CJ 36.8. That's too much. so that's already 4-5 minutes we could give to Simons. We were gassed in the WCF and giving our backcourt 37 minutes a night is not gonna help this. Let give some of those minutes to Simons and reep the benefit: Development and fresher legs
 
the theory I heard around here all off-season was that between Ant, Bazemore, and Hezonja the Blazers would have enough play-making and shooting on the floor for the 2nd unit. So far, in 61 combined minutes those three are averaging 2.4 assists vs 3.6 turnovers while shooting 41% on FG's and 32% on three's. And Tolliver ain't helping shooting 23% on FG's and 25% on three's.

Portland needed every second of Dame's 38 minutes last night to get the W. And for Ant to get more minutes the bench has to not play like crap and Ant has to establish he's a better option than CJ or Bazemore at SG. Hasn't happened

NBA bench production:

http://www.hoopsstats.com/basketball/fantasy/nba/teamstats/20/7/diffeff/1-1
 
illmatic99 said:
He's not doing much more than score right now, but he looks more comfortable each game. Now is the time during the season to see what he's got and let him make more mistakes, but Terry seems to have a quick hook with him. He's lost on defense frequently, but the only way for him to learn is to play. Scoring wise, he looks so smooth and reminds me exactly of Lou Williams.

I think the rotation now is for Ant to get PG minutes whenever Dame sits, and on occasion he plays WITH Dame. But 17 mpg is just too few I feel.

Can we play him at SF next to Dame/CJ for a few minutes?
Click to expand...

Small forward? The kid doesn't have the size, strength or ability to guard small forwards as he struggles against players closer to his size as it is. He needs to be able to play better defense to get more minutes and as time goes on I would expect that to improve and his minutes grow. I will repeat what I have said from the beginning of the year. It is way to early in the season to worry about playing time and rotations as that will work itself out.
 
PtldPlatypus said:
So far this season, outside of assists and FTs, how has CJ been better than Simons? Overall, neither has been particularly good.

View attachment 28175
Click to expand...

3 point shooting.

I will also add that teams plan defenses around McCollum, but I doubt teams are scheming for Simons. Players like Lillard and McCollum can be effective on the floor as they get the majority of attention when they are on the floor so it helps others to be open. Simons doesn't bring that same intangible right now. He may get there, but not yet.
 
PtldPlatypus said:
So far this season, outside of assists and FTs, how has CJ been better than Simons? Overall, neither has been particularly good.

View attachment 28175
Click to expand...

you do know I'm not a CJ fan, and yes, he's been crappy so far

still, he has a resume of 4 years of starting and 5 games this season isn't going to move Ant ahead of CJ's 350 games in the mind of Stotts. By the way, I'm fine with Ant getting more minutes, and I'm fine with those minutes coming from CJ
 
PtldPlatypus said:
So far this season, outside of assists and FTs, how has CJ been better than Simons? Overall, neither has been particularly good.

View attachment 28175
Click to expand...
Not enough sample size for me to consider stats as of yet. My argument for Ant to get more mins is simply based on eye test and the ease with which he's scoring over really good defenders.
 
How to get him more minutes? Perhaps ensure all of our games go into overtime?
 
Scalma said:
Idk but Simons is gonna be better than CJ.
Click to expand...

That would be great if he does become better or even as good, but as of right now it's not really that close. Kobe Bryant's first year he only played around 17 minutes per game and I would really consider this Simons first year.
 
The way to get Simmons more burn is to start blowing some teams out in the 3rd qtr.....Simmons has a smooth shot but his defense is really horrible at the NBA level....Gary Trent Jr.. is much better at defense than Simmons is and it's not close....they are giving Simmons plenty of rope because of his stroke but at this point, Trent is more of a two way player but we won't know if we don't have a huge lead at some pt and let the 3rd string loose for a qtr...same with Nas...he hasn't broken a sweat against NBA competition yet. For Dame to not play 38 minutes a game we need to put teams away earlier..
 
He has a bright future but I'd like to see more from him other than just going one-on-one and chucking up shots. These possessions with zero passes in which the three main guards just go one-on-one and try to create their own shots is exceedingly annoying. Do we have any plays?
 
noknobs said:
He has a bright future but I'd like to see more from him other than just going one-on-one and chucking up shots. These possessions with zero passes in which the three main guards just go one-on-one and try to create their own shots is exceedingly annoying. Do we have any plays?
Click to expand...
There's plenty of time to hone all that in, but his shot making ability alone right now warrants more PT.
 
riverman said:
The way to get Simmons more burn is to start blowing some teams out in the 3rd qtr.....Simmons has a smooth shot but his defense is really horrible at the NBA level....Gary Trent Jr.. is much better at defense than Simmons is and it's not close....they are giving Simmons plenty of rope because of his stroke but at this point, Trent is more of a two way player but we won't know if we don't have a huge lead at some pt and let the 3rd string loose for a qtr...same with Nas...he hasn't broken a sweat against NBA competition yet. For Dame to not play 38 minutes a game we need to put teams away earlier..
Click to expand...
Agree that Trent is a better two player at this point. He's just caught up in to many guards to gain minutes. That shot/motion of Simon's sure is different.
 
Make him earn more minutes? Five games and were worrying about his PT when every game has been down to the wire? Simons is oozing with talent. As the team starts to gel and starts getting separation on opponents, he’s going to get more minutes. From there, he can earn Stotts’ trust for the nail-biters.
 
e_blazer said:
Make him earn more minutes? Five games and were worrying about his PT when every game has been down to the wire? Simons is oozing with talent. As the team starts to gel and starts getting separation on opponents, he’s going to get more minutes. From there, he can earn Stotts’ trust for the nail-biters.
Click to expand...
Who's worrying? I'm just saying he should get more to build on his skills so that he's ready to contribute in a major way during the playoffs.
 
illmatic99 said:
Who's worrying? I'm just saying he should get more to build on his skills so that he's ready to contribute in a major way during the playoffs.
Click to expand...

No argument there, but it’s a long season and right now the emphasis has to be on getting the team playing better. Ant is going to get more minutes as the team plays better and doesn’t have to rely as consistently on Dame saving the game.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Wizard Mentor
Science How many minutes will Hansen get in his rookie season?
2 3 4
Replies
113
Views
3K
Everything Beagle
Everything Beagle
Rastapopoulos
Should we be worried about Shaedon?
4 5 6
Replies
162
Views
3K
twobullz
T
cheesehoff
It's time to find a PG
2
Replies
45
Views
1K
SheedSoNasty
SheedSoNasty
Rastapopoulos
Should we worry about Toumani?
2 3
Replies
60
Views
1K
blazerkor
blazerkor
Domihatin
Is Simons being hardcore disrespected?
2
Replies
55
Views
2K
Samuel
Samuel

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)
Back
Top