Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons is one of the more unique stars in the game. He is terrific on the defensive end of the floor and he is so essential to what the Sixers want to do on offense as he can create so many open looks for his teammates.
Since the All-Star break, however, his offensive production has been down. He is posting a below-average true shooting percentage of 51.1% and he is committing 4.8 turnovers per game compared to 3.3 before the All-Star break.
He had a recent game on this current road trip, against the Los Angeles Lakers, where he shot just 1-for-7 from the floor and most of the shots were at the basket. He had a tough night and it has been something similar since the break.
“Him just picking his spots, especially with the guys in and out and who he’s playing with,” said veteran Danny Green. “When teams are double-teaming and having him and Dwight (Howard) are on the floor, with him trying to figure out the spacing, it’s been tough because usually, he’s in the dunker spot, but he has to find space and cut from where he’s at, to give us that outlet.”
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Having Howard out there instead of the injured Joel Embiid definitely changes Simmons’ role on the offensive end of the floor. He can normally attack the basket due to the proper spacing with Embiid being able to do more outside of the paint so the floor is spaced.
Due to not having the big fella out there, Simmons has been trying to speed up the offense a bit more and get to the basket while he has the chance. The issue is, when he is going so fast and his elite speed, the rest of the offense can’t catch up. He then tries to kick it out and nobody is there which causes a turnover.
“Also just taking his time of not making too many fast, quick, speedy decisions of learning how to shift gears,” Green added. “He goes fast, he’s very good at getting to the basket strong with the speed also, but he’s gotta let us get a chance to catch up with him with the defense, let it flatten out from time, and just taking the time.”
In the grand scheme of things, Simmons is doing his job which is getting into the paint and attracting the defense so his teammates can get open looks. The problem is, the floor is not spaced properly at this time and that causes issues. He tries to get too ahead of the rest of the team and his rushing things causes him to struggle.
“For the most part, the only thing is he’s got to be a little more patient with himself and with the offense and not turn the ball over,” Green finished. “Other than that, he’s been great at attacking, and getting to the rim, and doing it puts us in sets. Hopefully, he keeps that up, but just fixes taking his time, being patient, and not turn the ball over.”
The Sixers will finish up the road trip on Thursday when they take on the Cleveland Cavaliers at 7 p.m. EDT.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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