The Philadelphia 76ers have something special on Ben Simmons. The guy is one of the top 15 players in the NBA regardless of position and he can do so many different things on the floor that he is almost like a trump card. He can cancel out a lot of opposing team’s plans.
His presence is felt all over the floor, but especially on the defensive end where he leads the league in steals per game and total steals. He is a smart player all over the floor and coach Brett Brown feels fortunate to have him on his roster.
“I’ve been blown away at how good Ben Simmons has been defensively,” said Brown. “Soon, they’re going to be talking about All-League Defensive players and you got Ben Simmons that leads the NBA in steals, leads the NBA in loose balls gathered, and is second in deflections.”
On top of that, he is doing all of that while taking on some of the top assignments in the league. He has to defend stars such as Bradley Beal, Zach LaVine, Jimmy Butler, Jayson Tatum, and LeBron James on a nightly basis and he does so at an elite level.
“There’s so many other stats that nobody even talks about that he has an impact and just a presence,” Brown added. “He’s a 6-foot-10, cat-like, disruptive thief. When I study him and his spirit in practice here in Orlando, there’s not a watered-down version of our defense with him.”
Brett Brown praising the defense of Ben Simmons, calling him "a 6' 10'", cat-like, disruptive thief".
— Jon Johnson (@jonjohnsonwip) July 21, 2020
For the Sixers tp achieve their goal of winning an NBA championship, they will need Simmons to continue defending at an elite level. He will undoubtedly have to take on those aforementioned matchups in the playoffs and it will be up to him to step up to the challenge and get the job done. [lawrence-related id=35142,35135,35126]