Thorpe: Trail Blazers Need to Keep Playing Anfernee Simons

The TrueHoop Newsletter (subscription required) is one of the best sources for NBA analysis out there. In today’s version David Thorpe throws a bone to Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons, who made the cut among 27 observations about the opening nights of the NBA season.

Simons played 12 minutes, shooting 2-7 for 5 points and 2 steals in Portland’s home-opening loss to the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night. That performance was enough to pique Thorpe’s interest. Under the banner “Play Anfernee Simons”, Thorpe writes:

For the Blazers to remain a solid playoff team he needs to be a more trusted rotation player, which will lead to more minutes. Besides a major trade, the Blazers’ road to improvement comes from meaningful development from Simons and Zach Collins, who had an underwhelming eight points and five rebounds in 31 minutes.

In the newsletter, Thorpe also talks about the inadequate game plan of the Los Angeles Lakers, Pascal Siakam becoming a big deal, rookie Niccolo Melli potentially helping the New Orleans Pelicans, Zach LaVine’s questionable shot selection, and much more.