When he's hot, it's clear that Anfernee Simons is the best player on the Portland Trail Blazers roster. And lately, he's been playing like it. Simons is in the midst of his best stretch of the season, recording 30-plus points in four of his past six games in March.
However, the glaring question surrounding Simons' game is how much these stats truly impact winning. Although he's been playing well lately, the Blazers are 1-5 in that stretch with an active [four-game losing streak](https://ripcityproject.com/schedule).
The Blazers play better without Anfernee Simons
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This year, Simons is averaging 19.5 points, 4.8 assists, and 2.7 rebounds on 44/37/91 shooting splits. It's been a down season relative to his standards, but another impressive season nonetheless.
Simons has been playing well, but Portland as a team has been playing better with him off the court (-1.7 net rating) than when he's on the court (-4.8 net rating).
Now in his seventh season, Simons has doubled down on refining strengths that made him a first-round prospect the Blazers took a flier on out of IMG Academy in 2018. He's a prolific scorer who is a threat both on and off the ball with his ability to create shots for himself and knock them down in spot-up situations.
It takes a particular player to be a true combo guard in the NBA, which is a testament to Simons' skillset. However, this archetype also comes with a few notable weaknesses and limitations.
At 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, Simons is too undersized to play shooting guard without being a defensive liability. But he's not a good or willing enough playmaker to be a traditional pass-first point guard, as evidenced by his total of two assists over the past two games. With Simons primarily playing point guard this season, the latter has particularly become a problem for the Blazers this season.
Simons' -3.1 net rating difference is especially concerning when considering the opportunity cost of keeping him around. He's preventing Scoot Henderson -- who has the highest net rating difference on the team at 5.7 -- from having [an increased role](https://ripcityproject.com/obvious-change-trail-blazers-must-make-elevate-scoot-henderson).
When looking at two-player lineups, Simons is a net negative when playing alongside each member of the Blazers' young core outside of Donovan Clingan. Simons can't effectively share the court as a high-volume scorer.
He's a skilled player and entertaining to watch, but the concern has always been that he can't be one of the best players on your team to make a playoff run. That's exactly what the Blazers would have to pay him to keep him around, with his contract set to expire after next season.
Because of his contract and murky fit that hasn't contributed enough to winning, it seems like Simons will be the odd man out for Portland as the Blazers try to take a step forward next season.