I watched the 2nd half of the Bucks game from 6:00 left in the 3rd quarter to the end. There was some question somewhere in the forum if Morant was guarding Simons and vice versa, not sure if it was this thread. Anyway, Simons and Morant were not guarding each other. The one time that Simons was guarding Morant, Morant ran behind Brandon Clarke on the right side line and Simons should have switched to Clarke and let Watford take Morant. Instead they were both standing in front of Morant, and Clarke ran to the hoop (and I think got the ball off a pass and took a shot). When the Blazers were on offense Morant was over in the corner where Elleby was. However in the Milwaukee game Simons was defending Jrue Holiday and did a good job.
Watched the last Pels game and it was obvious CJ was giving it his all on both ends of the court for his new team. But try as he might he couldn't keep his guy in front of him. Ant has much better lateral quickness and I don't see any reason why he can't become a passable defender unlike CJ who frankly relies on skill to overcome his athletic deficiencies.
Those are 2022 EPM ratings which is supposedly the most accurate advanced stat. https://dunksandthrees.com/epm I’m not saying it can’t work just that there’s a big deficit at the defensive end right now. I expect Ant can improve defensively and also increase his free throw rate as he gets better at finishing.
Fair enough. I don't expect Ant and Dame to become defensive juggernauts, but I think that they can improve. I especially don't believe that the constant comment about size is a major factor in their ability to improve. But, as I have said before, I'm more in the "let's see how it works on the court" camp than making any prediction that they're going to work well together.
Nurk is pretty average it looks like. Slightly above average? Simons is also fairly average or slightly above average.
I’ve always been a Nurk supporter and apologist. But it seems to me that his defense and rim protection has dropped off a lot since his injury. He used to be an elite defender. So his finishing problems on offense weren’t that big a deal. He only needed to be passable on offense. Now his offense has improved, if he were at his prior defensive level he’d be a near top 5 center. But alas it’s not. As efficient as Ant is with his shooting it’s hard to be much above average if your are both a bad defender and you don’t get to the FT line. But I think the chance that he becomes a decent or even a good defender is far better than it was with CJ. Plus he is more versatile than CJ and more of a team player. He needs to learn how to finish at the rim in order to start drawing fouls. He’s getting better at it. I have high hopes.
at this point, i cant think of any player even close to improving as much as Ant has. He should walk away with the award i would think.
I watched the 1st quarter of the Memphis game again and Anfernee Simons was guarding Ja Morant most of the first 6:00 and did a better job than anyone else defending him. On one possession (edit: with 3:45 left in the 1st quarter) Morans drove close to the hoop and Simons stripped the ball but it rolled out of bounds off Simons. On that same possession, Simons went under a screen near the 3-point line and Morant hit the 3-pointer. Those are the only points I've seen scored by Morant on Simons. In the second 6:00 of the 1st quarter, Simons wasn't defending Morant (edit: as much) and that's when Morant started going off.
Marvelous young man and so talented. I look forward to seeing Dame and him light up the League next year.