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Portland Trail Blazers: 3 takeaways from opening night loss to the Nuggets

Carson Brown|
PORTLAND, OR - OCTOBER 12: CJ McCollum #3, and Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers talk during a pre-season game against the Phoenix Suns on October 12, 2019 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OR - OCTOBER 12: CJ McCollum #3, and Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers talk during a pre-season game against the Phoenix Suns on October 12, 2019 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)
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Portland Trail Blazers
Anfernee Simons #1 of the Portland Trail Blazers (Photo by Cameron Browne/NBAE via Getty Images)

Anfernee Simons Doesn’t Seem Ready 

Between the dazzling Summer League performance and his stellar preseason, Anfernee Simons seemed ready to take the helm as the commander of the second unit, but his play Wednesday showed otherwise.

Portland Trail Blazer fans have been so antsy to see Simons finally become apart of the Blazers rotation, but his performance last night was nothing pretty. Simons shot a poor 2-for-7 from the field and failed to connect on a three-point attempt.

The concern for Simons doesn’t come with the scoring. We know his arsenal is fully equipped with endless ways to the put the ball into the hoop, but his playmaking ability was nowhere to be found. The second unit looked to Simons to make plays and facilitate, yet he failed to take advantage of the opportunity and his zero assist performance shows that.

The minutes were not plentiful for Simons, but he didn’t do anything to earn more. He looked tentative and clearly wasn’t ready for the real thing. Look for Simons to grow through experience and turn into what we all expect, but last night was not what Blazer fans we’re hoping to see out of their potential stud in Anfernee Simons.

Look for Simons to grow as the bench leader throughout the season as excellence comes with experience and the patience needs to be there for the young guard loaded with potential.