Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons is one of the more unique superstars in the league. He is a guy who cannot be judged based on his stat line of 13.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 8.0 assists and one has to really sit down and watch a game to see what he does on the floor.
Simmons returned on Saturday against the Brooklyn Nets and he made a big impact on the game just by setting up his teammates and making sure everybody was on the same page. He set up so many open looks for Danny Green and Seth Curry and the Sixers put up 124 points in the win. They struggled to produce any open looks without him on Thursday.
“I don’t know what he had in assists, I didn’t even look,” said coach Doc Rivers. “Probably in assist attempts, he had 25, we just missed them. It’s amazing, what he single handily does for your offense. I don’t know if anyone in the league creates more 3s as Ben Simmons does, maybe LeBron (James)? Possibly? Not even sure.”
Thm there’s the defensive factor that Simmons brings. Philadelphia stuck him on Nets star James Harden in the third quarter and his defense threw him off and he cut off a lot of his driving lanes. That is something that does not show up in the stat sheet.
“I thought it changed the game for sure,” Rivers added. “I thought allowing him to play off Harden in the first half, gave us a lot of energy in the second half and that’s what you want to happen. It allowed him to still push the ball up on the break, which is so important for us as well.”
Simmons had 16 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, and three steals in the win on Saturday. The stats really belie the impact he had on the floor for his team.
“I think you have to coach him and be around him to see his value, but he’s invaluable to a basketball team and what he does,” Rivers finished. “Not only just with his defense and his passing but just so many little things that he does that is just unbelievable.”
The Sixers will still need Simmons to eventually add to his offensive game, but he brings so much to this team that one just does not see unless they watch the games. He is so important to any chances they have to win this season.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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