Comparing Notes: Tre Mann and Anfernee Simons

Tre Mann’s game this season has been, in one word, smooth.

Mann has dazzled with his elite shot creation and separation skills, as well as large scoring outbursts.

Mann’s best game of the season came last week against Boston, as his potential was on full display when he dropped a career high 35 points. That night he drilled seven triples and notched a 20 point quarter.

Monday night, Oklahoma City faces the Portland Trailblazers in a game that, honestly, both teams probably want to lose. The Thunder and the Trailblazers are both limping towards the finish line without their star players.

Since the Thunder have been out of stars, with Josh Giddey and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sidelined, Mann has taken over the role. He’s shown that he plays even better with one of them on the floor to take some of the defensive pressure off, scoring 35 points alongside Gilgeous-Alexander.

In Portland, there’s a similar situation going on with a star in the making. Anfernee Simons was on an absolute tear with Damian Lillard out, taking his opportunity head on. Simons, too, has multiple 30 point games and is averaging a career high 17.3 points per night. Since March 5, though, Simons has been out with injury tonight.

While the young Blazers guard won’t play tonight, he certainly has shades of who Mann could become.

For Simons, this marks his fourth season in the NBA. After his rookie season, when he started to get real playing time, his numbers were eerily similar to Mann’s. Simons averaged 8.3 points on 40% shooting and 33.2% from three, displaying plenty of highlight plays and elite shot creation. Mann is now up to 10.4 points on 39.3% shooting and 36% from 3-point range.

Both guards are incredibly comparable players. Each have an innate ability to get open, creating dazzling dribble moves and step backs in the process. Each player is also probably more of an undersized shooting guard but showing promise as passers.

Another key comparison is direction of each team. Both the Blazers and the Thunder are down their stars, planning to bring them back next season. While the Blazers might be in more of a hurry to win now, Simons and Mann have both shown enough promise to have fans excited about pairing them with Lillard and Gilgeous-Alexander in 2022-23.

Even though the two won’t be matched up tonight, it will be a battle to keep an eye on moving forward.

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