Portland Trail Blazers' Anfernee Simons Aggravates Ankle Injury

The Portland Trail Blazers may be without their promising shooting guard for a little while longer. In last night's game against the New Orleans Pelicans, Anfernee Simons aggravated an ankle injury that had kept him out of action since February 14th.

Anfernee Simons said if he was a betting man he wouldn’t bet on his chances of playing Friday in Atlanta after he aggravated his right ankle sprain Wednesday. “Bad luck,” Simons said.
— Jason Quick (@jwquick) March 2, 2023

Simons' return to the court after a three-game absence was a mess all around. The fifth-year player hit two of his nine field goal attempts for four points, three rebounds, and one assist before exiting after a little over 20 minutes. For the season, Simons has averaged 21.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game with a respectable .583 true shooting percentage. Save for this recent spat of bad luck, he's been remarkably durable: he has appeared in 57 of a possible 62 games this season.

The Portland Trail Blazers are 29-33 and 12th in the Western Conference, but even that may overstate their quality. Seven-time All-Star Damian Lillard has been out of his mind this season, averaging 32.3 points per game with a spectacular, personal-best .653 true shooting percentage. If his nuclear hot streak subsides even slightly, the Trail Blazers could sink even deeper into the NBA's basement. Barring a massive offseason, the Trail Blazers appear stuck as a franchise.

The Trail Blazers are back in action Friday with a road game against the Atlanta Hawks.