Anfernee Simons Out At Least 1-2 Weeks

Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons has been diagnosed with mild patellar tendinopathy in his left knee after an MRI on Thursday, the team announced. He’s set to be reevaluated in one-to-two weeks.

Simons has missed Portland’s last two games while dealing with the injury. Through 57 games this season, the 22-year-old is averaging career-highs of 17.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 29.5 minutes. He sports an efficient shooting slash line of .443/.405/.888 (.583 true).

Simons was the No. 24 overall pick of the 2018 draft. He’s a candidate for the Most Improved Player award after seeing his numbers increase across the board. His emergence this season is a primary reason why the team opted to trade CJ McCollum to the Pelicans last month.

The combo guard will be a restricted free agent this summer and will receive a significant raise on the $3,938,818 he’s making this season. Simons said a few weeks ago that he plans to re-sign with the Blazers.

I 100% want to stay in Portland,” Simons said, per Ben Pickman of Sports Illustrated. “And I think everybody wants me to stay as well. I think it’s a perfect fit for me.”

After losing six straight games, the Blazers are currently 25-40, the No. 11 seed in the West. They trail New Orleans by one-and-a-half games for the final spot in the play-in tournament.

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