Well, there was so much hating on Ant going on here, this should make quite a few of our members here happy.
As long as Dame is healthy, there will be no tanking. That guy can will this team to too many wins to perform a real tank job like they should be doing!
it's hard to believe Simons won't miss quite a bit of time. That sure looked like a severe ankle sprain, and the MRI could easily shot damage requiring weeks of recovery. Winslow was missing his 8th week in a row last night it will be really interesting to see what the impact of Ant-less basketball will be. Statistically, it doesn't look like he has a big impact. He's 8th in the rotation in TS%; 6th in PER; last in rebound rate; 2nd in assist rate (but well below 20% which is mediocre for a primary ball-handler); 9th in winshares/48; 3rd in OBPM; 12th in DBPM; and 7th in BPM. The average PER is 15.0 and he's at 15.2; the average winshare/48 is .100 and he's at .077; the average BPM is 0.0 and he's at -0.8 Portland's defense will probably be better but with Chauncey calling the shot I'd not bet on it. If Ant continued to play like he has over the last 4 or 5 games the Blazers wouldn't miss him. But he does pull out a real torch from the perimeter at times and that can propel the team to wins. It's just that those torches don't get ignited that often it probably means that Dame will have to carry a bigger burden again. Without Ant, Hart, and maybe Winslow, the only guy in the rotation, right now, who can facilitate offense as a ball-handler is Watford
Just because I don't like the Dame/Ant pairing in the back court doesn't mean I don't like Ant and it definitely doesn't mean I want to see the guy injured.
Hey I’m not the one night in and night out bashing our players. Seems like there was a ton of negative heat being tossed Ant’s way. We’ll see if we are better without him. That injury was brutal. I didn’t even show the worst angle to you guys.
Dame is gonna get trapped to oblivion. I'm not the biggest Ant fan, but I think it's undeniable that our offense is going to suffer. I'm still interested in seeing what happens though. In 2023 the Blazers are #1 in offensive efficiency. #1 in offensive shot profile (eFG of where the team shoots its shots) #30 in defensive efficiency. #30 in defensive shot profile With Ant out do we go to #10 in offense and #20 in defense? Is the slide in offense going to make up for the improvement in defense? Of course some of the defensive numbers are also influenced by some of our best defenders being out with injury, but if we can go through a stretch where our offense doesn't suffer as much as we improve on defense, that may be enough to convince the FO into looking at Ant trades.
So, when is the Blazer medical staff going to force Anfernee to take a Toradol shot to play? <<running away quickly>> https://images.fanpop.com/images/im...-Orange-a-clockwork-orange-323602_720_429.jpg
Hate is drama queen language bro....I've been on record as not being a huge Ant or Nas fan and would have liked to get bigger next to Dame...Ant shoots well in spurts but has shot us out of many wins in the 4th qtr without giving up the 20 pts he scrapped together earlier in the game....I want guys who take over an end game and we have that guy in Dame.....Ant would be a good 6 man but like CJ....he's paid to start...choices..hardly hate. Ant and Nas back in Florida seems like a good fit. Our two seasons with Ant starting have pretty much sucked so far. This is coming from a Terry Stotts fan. I'm still baffled by Chauncey's endgames.....last night he didn't have one and to use a challenge early in the game risking a timeout and only gaining one fucking pt....worst challenge I've seen....Chauncey is 9-10 on challenges. I also think Chauncey is usually too quick to clear the bench with 4 or more minutes on the clock. Hopefully it gets better but you probably couldn't criticize a player if you wanted to keep your job anyway...I don't have that issue bro
Ant — as a young guy and inexperienced as a full-on PG — even on his 2nd contract — didn’t just get a bigger plate as a starter. He’s got side dishes. He’s looks like he’s working on everything about his game … which means struggling at times. When I watch him at all three levels, I’m amazed that anyone compares him to CJ. He’s even working in his D. This time off can help him step back … make him step back … and just watch what others are doing. He’s a dude and will figure out what kind of PG he’ll become.
