Trail Blazers Guard To Miss All-Star Weekend With Injury

A grade 2 ankle sprain will spell the end of a dream weekend for the Portland Trail Blazers' fifth-year guard Anfernee Simons. 

Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons has suffered a Grade 2 ankle sprain and will miss All-Star weekend as a result.

His availability to return will be determined at a later date.

— Brett Siegel (@BrettSiegelNBA) February 16, 2023

Simons could possibly be out several weeks. He was due to participate in the Three Point Contest at All-Star Weekend, which he'll now have to forego. The New York Knicks' Julius Randle has already been named to replace him. 

The 23-year-old Simons, who signed a 4-year, $100M extension with the Blazers last summer, had been shooting threes at a 38% clip this season while averaging a career-high 21.4 points per game. He shot 40.5% from beyond the arc last season, and over 42% the year before.

Simons suffered the ankle sprain during Tuesday night's game against the Washington Wizards. His availability to return, say the Blazers, "will be determined at a later date." But truth be told, a "Grade 2" sprain could take 3-to-6 weeks. That will have an impact on Portland's desperate chase to stay in the playoff hunt in the tightly-packed Western Conference. 

The Blazers are 28-30 and in 12th spot, but just half a game back of the final play-in spot, and only two games back of the 6-seed, the final guaranteed playoff berth.

Photo: Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports