Science Will Dame and Ant succeed as a back court?

Simple enough question. Do you have faith Dame and Ant can succeed together? Why or why not and please explain below.

 

I personally think they will be amazing offensively and they will put together at least adequate defense. I don't buy for a second Ant cannot be effective off-ball. I have faith Chauncey can get Ant up to decent to good defense and same with Dame who will be injury free and get more rest due to Ant’s emergence as a great passing guard.

 

So many gray areas. I think I said in the other post, it's possible we might see Dame at 80% and Ant at 80% because they both need the ball. Is that better than Dame at 100% with Hart or Ant at 100% with Hart or Nas?

 

I foresee opposing teams having, NO WAY , to double team both players, leading to a plethora of great shots by each other, and leading to fantastic looks for teammates. It will be a nightmare for opponents. It's gonna be fun to watch. And for those who think Dame will be a ball stopper, no chance. He's watching film, watching his teammates, and will adapt his game to Chauncey's way, knowing that it gives this team the best chance to win. But if the team needs him to go nuclear, he will. Especially healthy. Plus Cronin will add a top flight power forward to assist any short comings. The future's so bright , rip city's gonna need shades.

 

As already asked, What Is The Definition of Success? Neil Olshey thought the Lillard-McCollum backcourt was a success, or at least, not a problem.
A better question is: "Which Backcourt would be better overall. - Lillard/Ant + Josh Hart or Lillard + Simons. We already have those players.
I would choose Lillard or Simons plus Josh Hart. I can't see all the easy points that Hart scores on offense, or his effectiveness everywhere else (other than shooting contested shots) being matched by Lillard or Simons.
This is just my guess, and I hope that Lillard and Simons makes the offense so unstoppable that it makes up for deficiencies anywhere else.
Hart's 3-point shooting in Portland is at 52 percent and that isn't sustainable. The question is, what will it be long-term in Portland? The Debbie downers say it's going to go back to 35% at some point. I would say, if he keeps taking almost all open 3-pointers, he could be at Lillard/Simons level near 40% long term. We'll see.

 

In this scenario are the Blazer forwards pushing the ball up the floor? The more we run the less I see the need for a true PG and more the need for players who can spread the floor and knock down the 3.

Dame will succeed when he is running the show. Ant will succeed when Dame is on the bench. Dame and Ant will both succeed if Winslow or
Hart are pushing the ball and finding Ant and Dame open on the wings.

Of course, the true success will be measured by wins and losses. And I am not totally certain who the supporting cast will be.

 

To clarify success is being top 4 in the West and a threat to go deep in the post season.

 

make Henry Abbott eat shit?

 

Oh, you mean next year, when we are trying to repeat.

 

We already tried the small backcourt/good offense/weak defense scheme. Can we try something different, just for shits and grins?

Now, if Ant is willing to come off the bench and be a 6th MOTY candidate, that might work.

 

One huge problem is needing to have both Dame and Simons on the court on defensive possessions at the end of a game after a timeout. Does Chauncey have the balls/power to say to Dame or Ant, you sit down? I highly doubt it.

Klay Thompson can shoot over Lillard or Simons like they're not even there.

 

He should have said "more than once."

 

I'm talking their first attempt together with a full season under their belt. Obviously if we get a good PF, it just goes up from there.

 

A long range cannon on the left.

A long range cannon on the right.

A Nurk tank up the middle.

Ball and player movement.

A swarming defense, featuring several excellent defenders.

Average defense from Dame and Ant.

Commander Chauncey Billups motivating the troops.

I'm optimistic.

 

That's why Lillard should come back this season and see if it works.
I really, really don't know if he is as hungry as Billups and young guys are.

It is all on him now. I hope he works on his defense now as much as he works on his nonbasketball projects.

One thing that makes me blah about this backcourt idea is it seems like we coming back to what we tried to work for 9 years. I didn't work. If we want to check it again - and those long 9 years gives us 80% of chance it is not going to work - we have to do it this season.

 

So tired of the false equivalency that Ant is the same as CJ. We aren’t redoing the past 9 years. Ant’s mentality is nothing like CJ’s. He’s a willing and intuitive passer. You could argue he’s already a better all around player than CJ and he’s 22 with tons of upside. I for one believe in Ant and his ability to improve defensively. If he does that and only that this is a whole new ball game. He makes his teammates better and that’s something CJ never did.

 

No. Small no defense playing backcourt is what we had