Anfernee Simons, Portland Trail Blazers.
After losing two straight, the Portland Trail Blazers find themselves in tenth place after a dozen games. So far, their uneven performances are not what most Blazers’ fans expected from the team at this point. We look at some of the pros and cons that surfaced over the first month of the 2021-22 season.
Pro #1: Anfernee Simons is becoming a legit sixth man
Any lingering offseason questions about whether or not Anfernee Simons can develop into a legit sixth-man contender are answered by his hot start. Simons averages 12.3 points on 45.2 percent shooting, including 39.2 percent from three-point range.
His ball-handling has improved, and the 22-year-old added some muscle to his 6-3 frame in the offseason. Simons still appears to be more of a shooting guard or shoot-first point guard, and he’s excelling in that role.
Con #1: Damian Lillard’s cold shooting
Whether it’s the new Wilson basketballs, the new offensive system by Chauncey Billups, or the “core” injury that Damian Lillard suffered over the summer, and he has not looked like himself. The team’s best player is shooting 35.1 percent from the field, and 24.7 percent from the arc. that’s not going to get it done most nights.
This is likely the big reason why Portland is 5-1 at home and 0-6 on the road. Role players typically play better at home than they do on the road, and without Dame Dolla lighting it up away from the Moda Center, it’s been too much for the team to overcome.
Pro #2: Norman Powell showing up big on offense
In the eight games Norman Powell played this season, he’s been the team’s most solid player on both sides of the ball. He is third on the team, scoring17.4 points per game. Additionally, Powell is the Blazers’ hottest outside shooter in the young season. Combining the 6-3 forward’s scrappy defense with upticks on both field goal and three-point percentages make him a big part of the Trail Blazers.
The more Powell plays, the more re-signing him looks like a good investment that keeps getting better.
Con #2: Jusuf Nurkic not getting enough shots
Across the board, Jusuf Nurkic is having a pretty solid season stat-wise, with 11.4 points and 11.9 rebounds per game. What’s hard to understand is in a season where Nurkic is averaging 56.3 percent shooting from the field (his highest shooting percentage in any season for the Blazers by over 5 percent), why is he only averaging 8.0 shot attempts a game? Which is his lowest amount of attempts per game in any season with the Trail Blazers.
He can be an offensive force inside, and this team needs a healthy dose of points in the paint to open up more looks for the perimeter shooters. Simply put, the Blazers don’t get enough balls to Nurk down low. That has to change.
Pro #3: Improved Defense
It’s been chaotic and ugly at times, but the Portland Trail Blazers defense is gradually improving. Last season they gave up 114.3 points per game which ranked them 23rd in the league. So far, Portland is over five points better at only 109.2 points per game, which moves them up to 20th.
As the season wears on, this trend should slowly continue and may even pick up depending on how comfortable thy players get with Billups’ system and any trades that happen along the way.
Con #3: Offensive decline
As the Portland Trail Blazers’ defense has slowly improved, it’s been offset by a slight decline in scoring. Their offensive production dropped from 116.1 points (5th) in 2020-21 to 110.9 (9th) this year.
Again the players are adjusting to the new coach’s offensive sets. Portland hasn’t cut back on three-point shooting as Billups talked about in the offseason. Instead, they are shooting around half a three-pointer more per game than they did in the previous season.
Unfortunately, their shooting percentage is down to 35.6 percent from last year’s 38.5. Most of the decline is due to Lillard’s slump. The Blazers’ percentages should increase as Dame finds his way out of his early-season shooting woes.
In Conclusion
It’s a mixed bag right now of early-season miscues and sloppy play in some games, compared with others where the Portland Trail Blazers look sharp and much improved. The roster isn’t balanced talent-wise as the top four scorers are 6-4 or shorter.
This team is at its best when Nurkic or another big can step up and be a legit inside scoring consistently. Until that happens, I won’t consider this roster maximized.
What do you make of the Portland Trail Blazers start to 2021-22? Please leave your thoughts in the comment section below.