There has always been a debate surrounding Philadelphia 76rs guard Ben Simmons and his true value as a player. One would point to his average stat line of 13.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 8.0 assists and try to argue that he is not an All-Star caliber player.
However, one really has to continue to watch the games and use the eye test to really see what Simmons does on the floor on a nightly basis for the Sixers.
The latest example was the previous two games. The Sixers shot 7-for-27 from deep, including starting 0-for-12, in a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday without Simmons and then they bounced back and shot 10-for-27 from deep in the win over the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday with Simmons.
“He impacts everybody on the floor,” said Seth Curry. “Just with energy. No matter whether he’s scoring big or not, he creates havoc on the defensive end, he creates turnovers, and pushes the pace for us to get guys shots without having to run offense so that’s always a plus.”
Simmons is not a guy who’s going to have big stat lines, but because he is 6-foot-10 and he is skilled, he creates open looks for everybody else due to his attention. He draws defenders towards him when he drives to the basket, and that allows him to find open teammates on the perimeter. The offense just runs smoother when he is out there.
On top of that, there is his obvious defensive impact. He shuts down a lot of the league’s top scorers and he did just that on Saturday against Nets star James Harden. He is so important to whatever the Sixers want to do to succeed.
“Ben does a lot on the floor for us,” Curry continued. “There’s a lot of guys in the league putting up big numbers that aren’t affecting the game anywhere close to the way he is on a nightly basis. We definitely appreciate what he does.”
Philadelphia will take on the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday to begin a 4-game West Coast road trip.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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