2 Studs and 2 Duds from Trail Blazers' nail-biting loss to the Pelicans

The Portland Trail Blazers lost to the New Orleans Pelicans in heartbreaking fashion, 105-103. Although they fell short, there were many more reasons for optimism in the future compared to their blowout loss to the Warriors to open the season.

We wanted to do a "studs and duds" article for their first game, but zero players played well, even according to Chauncey Billups. That wasn't the case in this extremely close game that the Blazers certainly could have won, leading 84-75 entering the fourth quarter.

Dud No. 1: Anfernee Simons

In the Blazers' first loss to the Warriors, it was easy to point the finger at every player. However, in a close loss of this nature, it becomes clearer to narrow down a handful of players and moments that played a significant role in the loss, including Anfernee Simons.

To Simons' credit, he finished the matchup with 24 points and seven assists, contributing to over half of Portland's free throw attempts by going 10-11 from the charity stripe. But for the Blazers to come away with the victory, Simons must be more clutch and cognizant of the importance of possessions and high percentage looks towards the end.

A few plays down the stretch cost them when Simons had the ball in his hands and took a deep three with plenty of time remaining on the shot clock and an unnecessarily risky entry pass to Deandre Ayton on the opposite side of the block.

This is a game that the Blazers should have won at home, and they likely would have had Simons been more efficient. He went 6-20 from the field and 2-9 from beyond the arc, to go along with four turnovers and costly plays down the stretch.