The Philadelphia 76ers are getting set to officially resume the 2019-20 season in Orlando on Saturday against the Indiana Pacers. They will be doing so with a new starting lineup as Ben Simmons will be moving from point guard to power forward.
Simmons will still have the ball a lot in his hands as he will be operating more from the elbow around the foul line rather than initiating offense from the jump. It has been a good move for Simmons thus far as he and the team had some success with the new look in their three scrimmage games.
“I’m just continuing to add new things to my game,” said Simmons. “Over time it’s all going to come. I just need to stay in the gym and keep working and things will happen. I’ve enjoyed playing this new role. It’s new and it’s not new. I’m used to being on the floor so to me it’s just a different opportunity and a different spot on the floor. It’s the ways I can contribute a lot.”
The action with Simmons at the elbow can set up a nice high-low set up between himself and Joel Embiid. That way the Sixers can properly space the floor and allow Embiid time to work and do what he can on the floor. It also gives Simmons the opportunity to look to score more than he usually would.
“I feel like there’s less on me to where I always have to give it up,” Simmons added. “As a point guard, you have to find guys and get guys situated into whatever set you want to call or what coach is calling. So, for me to be able to run down the floor and get to where I want to be on the elbow and have a guy guard me 1-on-1, and then there are guys who are doing stuff on the backside and that helps a lot. There’s so many different possibilities offensively for us to go towards.”
Coach Brett Brown really made this move to allow Simmons to be much more dynamic and unlock other parts of his game offensively–such as maybe the 3-point shot. He wants to use him to the best of his ability.
“I think in general, Ben has been incredible being excited about accepting the role,” said Brown. “His usage rate, his assists, his rebounding, everything’s better. I’m just seeing this tremendous partnership with Joel grow…there’s a growth there and a feeling that I have that I underestimated. I think he has found maybe a new toy, another way to put his thumbprint all over the game. Ben Simmons has been really mature and excited how he has embraced trying to look at this new type of role.”
The Sixers will begin their march towards a championship on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. EST in Orlando. [lawrence-related id=35849,35838,35831]