Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons has always been a guy who does other things on offense such as being a facilitator and getting into the paint and setting up teammates rather than scoring, but his production since the All-Star break has been something to really look at.
Simmons did have a stretch before the break where he did a lot of scoring. He was attacking the basket with authority, he was moving well off cuts, and he took over when the time called for it. For example, he scored a career-high 42 points against the Utah Jazz on the road when Joel Embiid sat out. It seemed like he was finally turning a corner.
However, in 11 games since the break, his shooting numbers have completely plummeted. His true shooting percentage is just 48.6% compared to 61.4% before the break and his percentage around the rim is down as well.
Per Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer:
In 11 games since the All-Star break, Simmons is averaging 12.9 points on 45.5 percent shooting from the field. Within 8 feet of the rim, he’s shooting 48.1 percent, down from 63.1 percent over the prior 22 games.
There also seems to be a bit of pattern with Simmons. He gets off to good starts as he attacks the basket a bit, but he then begins to kind of trail off a little his aggression goes away.
Also, there are times when he will go up softly and try and get “cute” with his finishes around the basket and coach Doc Rivers tells him to go up for dunks when he has the opportunity.
“I think whenever you can, you should,” he said after a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday. “I didn’t have that ability, so I always used the glass, but yeah for sure.”
(function (d, s, n) {
var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
js = d.createElement(s);
js.className = n;
js.src = “//player.ex.co/player/d8b9c085-4226-44f1-8495-36ad4e2aa62d”;
fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
}(document, ‘script’, ‘exco-player’));
Simmons’ true value to this team has never been his scoring. His value is getting into the paint and then setting up his teammates for open looks while also being one of the elite defenders in the game on the other end.
He has always been a passive guy when it comes to his offensive output, but his shooting percentage around the rim should not be this low for a guy who stands at 6-foot-10 and somebody as strong as he is.
“We were missing point-blank shots, but that happens,” Rivers added on Saturday. “When that happens, you just got to keep playing. I thought our guys did that pretty well.”
Sure, Simmons is always able to do other things for this team’s offense, but overall, it is confusing to see him struggle so much around the rim. He did miss a game on March 20 with knee soreness, maybe that is bothering him? Rivers and the team have not said anything about him when it comes to any nagging injuries, but a knee injury is something that can really bother a guy for a long time.
Whatever the case may be, Simmons has to figure it out when the playoffs roll around. He has to be able to score and help Embiid out on that end of the floor when they face the tougher teams in the postseason.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
[mm-video type=playlist id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01f1jxkahtwnvzepyp image=https://sixerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
[lawrence-related id=44370,44375,44354]