The Philadelphia 76ers are undergoing a real facelift with their starting lineup as it appears that coach Brett Brown is continuing to make some serious changes to everybody’s roles in order to make this awkward roster work on offense.
One of those changes includes moving Ben Simmons from his usual point guard spot to the power forward position. From that point on, the Sixers will use him more in a point forward spot and have him run things from there, but also have him closer to the basket to utilize his athleticism at 6-foot-10 and his defensive prowess on that end of the floor.
“You’ve got to try different things out and see if they work,” he explained. “We’re not at a stage where we can be comfortable yet. I’m still trying to figure it out myself to see what feels comfortable and what feels right for this team and how we’re going to win. If it’s this way, then I’m all for it. I’ve been having fun at this position, at the 4 or whatever it is, but at the end of the day, we’re just on the floor and I’m making plays.”
Simmons’ versatility is a key factor to all of this working out. Considering he stands at 6-foot-10, runs like a gazelle, and has great leaping ability, all of that allows him to be moved around on the court. He’s almost like a chess piece as Brown can move him around and see where he best fits on the floor.
“It’s basketball, you’ve got to get the ball,” the All-Star added. “I’m a basketball player. At the end of the day, you know me, if you put me on the floor, I’ll make anything happen. Whether it’s plays, buckets, stops, I’ll guard anybody 1-through-5, I run the floor, I can get to the rim, I can score the basketball, I make plays happen. So wherever you put me 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 it’s going to happen. I don’t really look like the title of a position.”
As for Al Horford, this means that he has to move to the second unit. An All-Star for much of his career, he has had trouble fitting into this Sixers roster and really finding his niche, but so far in practice, things have been working out well for just about everybody involved.
“He’s a player. He just plays,” Simmons said of Horford. “That’s all of us. Once you put us out there, it’s just basketball at the end of the day. I don’t think guys are worried too much about the positional names or anything like that. At the end of the day, you’ve just got to play.”
Simmons on Horford: “He’s a player. He just plays. That’s all of us. Once you put us out there, it’s just basketball at the end of the day. I don’t think guys are worried too much about the positional names or anything like that. At the end of the day, you’ve just got to play.” pic.twitter.com/lN0vIuednm
— Ky Carlin (@Ky_Carlin) July 14, 2020
The Sixers will use this practice time to make sure everybody is comfortable with their role. It does seem a bit late to make such a dramatic move when considering that the playoffs begin in about a month in Orlando, but it does appear everybody is buying in and that’s the important part of all of this. Their final eight seeding games begin August 1 against the Indiana Pacers. [lawrence-related id=34612,34604,34586]