One of the eternal moments One of Damian Lillard’s tenures with the Portland Trail Blazers will be his 37-foot putback over Paul George that knocked the Oklahoma City Thunder out of the 2019 playoffs. There’s a reason he earns the nickname ” Lady Time.” In late-game scenarios, few players in NBA history are as effective as Lillard.
It’s certainly far down the list, but it’s one of the things Portland lost when it traded its franchise point guard to the Milwaukee Bucks before the season – someone to confidently hand the ball to in the final seconds of a close match.
But maybe the Blazers didn’t lose as much clutch when the clock struck midnight on Dame Time.
To be clear, Anfernee Simons is not Damian Lillard and certainly doesn’t have a track record. But a look at this season’s stats shows that Ant has been one of the league’s most effective players in the backcourt.
According to NBA.com, “clutch” time is defined as the last five minutes of a game when a team is up or behind by five points. The Trail Blazers have found themselves in such situations 16 times this season and Simons has played 4.2 crucial minutes, tied for seventh in the league among all qualified guards.
Among these guards, Ant is tied for second in points scored (4.3) behind Stephen Curry; shooting at 55.8 percent, good for ninth place despite having the third most shots (2.7); shooting 42.9 percent from three and ranking ahead of players like Tyrese Haliburton, Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson in attempts; and is shooting 93.3 percent from the free throw line.
Lady Time is over. But Simons has done a surprisingly fantastic job of becoming the Blazers’ go-to option with the game on the line.
