Anfernee Simons moved to Boston and what struck me most was how raw and honest he got about the defensive side of his game. The dude did not sugarcoat anything he basically said defense comes down to intent and effort and that he has to choose to bring it. He acknowledges that joining the Celtics means the defensive bar is not optional. Boston expects you to hustle on switches, fight over screens, stay physical without fouling, and do all the little things that do not always show up on the stat sheet. Offensively, Simons clearly fits three point range, off ball movement, spot ups, etc. But the big question now is can he defend well enough to earn big minutes on a defense first team. If he does we might be looking at the season where his ceiling really rises.
What do you all think can he make that defensive leap or will effort alone be enough for him to stick in Boston rotation.
Source:
https://sportsorca.com/nba/anfernee-simons-defense-embracing-the-challenge/
11 comments
What?
I personally like Simons, I hope he stays in Boston but I know we’re trying to trade him
I work late and watch a lot of west coast teams when I get off. I don’t think many of y’all watch any Blazers games; I truly think the effort *was* there last season, he’s just too small and not physical enough to be an impact guy on that end.
Portland was one of the better defensive teams in the second half, they made it part of their identity and it did look like Simons bought in.
The scary thing for me is he had a good defense behind him and still hurt them on that end when he was on the floor. Camara is a menace and he had Clingan protecting the rim behind him—we don’t have any of that.
We’re looking at lineups where there’s exploitable matchups all over the floor. That doesn’t bode well for him lol
I want to do a bunch shit that I don’t do. You have to do it.
This post is unintelligible.
When we’ve already got a backcourt duo that dropped 40 each on his team in the same game. (PP and Dwhite)
All I wanna hear from this guy is how he’s going to absolutely break himself to prove his worth on D.
Please trade this guy asap
“if that is the shift Celtics really needed” shift from what?
PP Simon minutes in the backcourt is going to be a brutal watch on defense especially vs teams that have clear exploits to pick on them. Going to be way different then watching White/Jrue
Simon’s “I’ll try to defend but no promises”
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