The case of Ben Simmons has been a curious one. On one hand, he’s an All-Star and is growing as a point guard, but on the other hand, he needs to continue to add to his offensive game.
In Tuesday’s 97-92 win over the Denver Nuggets, Simmons displayed an excellent floor game scoring seven points with nine assists and seven rebounds. The stat line doesn’t jump out at anyone, but it was his work on the defensive end and continued development as a point guard that caught the eye of coach Brett Brown.
“I think if you look at the stat sheet, it might not reveal what he did defensively in the second half,” said Brown. “I thought defensively in the second half, he was elite. I, too, see an emerging more sophisticated point guard, somebody that’s understanding a little bit better about who needs the ball and recognizing clocks and 2-for-1 type stuff. I don’t think his stat sheet wouldn’t reflect really how well I think he played, especially defensively.”
According to NBA.com/stats, Nuggets players shot a combined 3-for-9 when defended by Simmons and his play on that end of the floor really helped the Sixers hold the Nuggets to six points over the final seven minutes and preserve a win to improve to 13-0 at home.
“Locking in,” said Simmons. “I take a lot of pride in my defense, so I love guarding those guys and trying to get steals and deflections and things like that. It was really a team effort, everybody locking in.”
Those steals and deflections help fuel the Sixers fast break as they can get out and run more which is a plus for the athletes on this team. Philadelphia is able to get out in transition, led by Simmons, and use athletes like Josh Richardson and Tobias Harris to finish at the basket.
“Just moving it with pace,” Simmons added. “I was trying to get some boards and get out quick, get a little bit of momentum going for our team. And guys were running — it was great. Guys were getting deflections and running.”
The development and growth of Simmons will be a gradual one and there will still be more growing pains, but his current developmental track in other areas of his game are noticeable and they’re big factors in the grand scheme of things.
Philadelphia now heads to Boston on Thursday to take on the rival Celtics at the TD Garden. [lawrence-related id=21085,21068,21056]