Tag: Ben Simmons

Sixers guard Josh Richardson says it’s easy to play with Ben Simmons

Philadelphia 76ers guard Josh Richardson says it’s very easy to play with All-Star Ben Simmons.

The Philadelphia 76ers have been undergoing new offensive changes to the way they run things and Monday night was another example of that. With the spacing issues this team continues to deal with, coach Brett Brown has made a bit of a change to how he uses Ben Simmons.

The Sixers have begun using Simmons more as a screen and roller rather than the one who initiates pick-and-roll action. That responsibility has fallen to Josh Richardson and it allows Simmons to use his length and height to finish at the rim.

On Monday, Simmons finished with 17 points as most of his field-goal attempts were at the rim while Richardson had 23 points and four assists in a 120-113 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. The attention Simmons receives allows him to find his offense.

“Ben is a great guy and a very smart player,” said Richardson. “He makes good reads a lot of the time and he’s easy to play off of. He’s 6′ 10″ and very athletic, so it’s easy to get to a spot and kind of throw it over to him and he’ll usually make something good happen.”

The new wrinkle to the offense will take some time to fully get down, but Simmons is happy with the results so far.

“He’s an amazing talent,” Simmons said of Richardson. “It’s only been a few games where we’ve actually tried it out and it’s been effective so I think we’ll look at it a little bit more.”

If they get more results like they did on Monday night, this will be a long-term advantage for Philadelphia moving forward. [lawrence-related id=22874,22862,22842]

Sixers’ Brett Brown on Ben Simmons’ lack of shooting: ‘I have failed’

Philadelphia 76ers coach Brett Brown takes blame for Ben Simmons not shooting 3-pointers.

The biggest question surrounding Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons continues to be his lack of shooting. The Sixers point guard does so many good things out on the floor, but his lack of a jump shot has continued to hurt this team on offense. It’s hurt them so much that Simmons is now being used as a roll man in a pick-and-roll situation to get him closer to the basket.

Simmons has made two 3-pointers in the 2019-20 season, but ever since coach Brett Brown proclaimed that he wanted Simmons to shoot at least one 3-pointer per game back on December 7, Simmons has only taken one 3-pointer and it was a heave to end the half. It’s a situation that is fluid and Brown has acknowledged it.

“Evidently, I have failed,” said Brown pregame on Monday. “It’s something that we’re all mindful of and this is one of those things that is never going to go away. The attention that this has received is remarkable, but I guess I help fuel it and I own it. I’ve got to help him find this and most importantly, he has to help himself.”

Simmons has said in the past that he needs his space and to find his spot on the floor in order to fire up 3-pointers, but Brown said that that isn’t the case for him. He has not been put in a position to be able to shoot more 3-pointers.

“Ultimately, that’s going to be something that he and I figure it out,” he added. [lawrence-related id=22810,22795,22787]

Sixers vs. Thunder preview: Sixers return home after winless road trip

The Philadelphia 76ers return home on Monday to host the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Philadelphia 76ers return home on Monday looking to put a nightmarish 0-4 road trip behind them. They will return home to the friendly confines of the Wells Fargo Center where they are 16-2 and they defeated the Milwaukee Bucks on Christmas Day in their last home contest. That type of play should have the team feeling optimistic that they can breakthrough.

Their opponent on Monday is the Oklahoma City Thunder who own a win over the Sixers earlier this season at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. They’re led by the young and energetic Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and veterans Chris Paul and Steven Adams. Oklahoma City has outperformed expectations as they are in the thick of the Western Conference playoffs as preseason prognosticators did not expect this type of play from them after trading away Russell Westbrook and Paul George in the offseason.

With that said, it’s time for the guide to this one:

How to watch Sixers vs. Thunder

  • Date: Monday, January 6
  • Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
  • Location: Wells Fargo Center Philadelphia, PA
  • TV: NBATV, NBC Sports Philadelphia

Injury Report

  • Sixers: OUT: Matisse Thybulle(right knee sprain)
  • Thunder: OUT: Nerlens Noel(left ankle sprain), Andre Roberson(left knee injury recovery)

Storylines

Importance of Richardson

The Sixers are beginning to tweak the offense a little bit. Instead of having point guard Ben Simmons initiate the pick-and-roll, they plan on using their gifted 6-foot-10 athlete as the roller and finisher. That would put the ball more in the hands of Josh Richardson who now becomes a “necessity” in the words of coach Brett Brown.

“You shouldn’t use the word luxury, it’s a necessity,” said Brown succinctly. “You’re not going to do it otherwise. So we can say ‘Oh we love Ben as a screen-setter’, well you better find someone that can deliver the person to the screen.”

Horford shooting threes

In terms of the team’s offense, the Sixers are downright clunky. They struggled during the road trip as they averaged just 104 points per 100 possessions during the trip and it showed all of their warts on that end. In order to find success, they need more spacing for Joel Embiid to operate and that’s where Al Horford comes in.

“I just want him to keep shooting,” said coach Brett Brown. “I want him to shoot threes. I want him to space and co-exist with Joel in an environment where he feels comfortable and we find him firing threes. I couldn’t be any more clearer with that role.”

Prediction

Everything about this game screams a win for the Sixers. They’re returning home after a nightmare trip, they play extremely well at the Wells Fargo Center, and they had a solid practice on Sunday as they continued to work things out on their end on offense. The Thunder are not a pushover opponent as Gilgeous-Alexander has taken a step forward offensively and Paul has been a good role model there. Philadelphia should be able to put an end to this awful skid.

Pick: Confidently taking the Sixers

Sixers vs. Thunder season series

Game 1 November 15: 127-119 Thunder

Game 2 January 6:

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Sixers to use Ben Simmons more as roller, rather than ball-handler

The Philadelphia 76ers plan to use Ben Simmons more as a roller than as a ball-handler on offense.

When you have a roster like the one the Philadelphia 76ers possess, one has to get creative in terms of how it’s going to be used. The big advantage of this roster is versatility and the Sixers were able to use that in big ways in recent games.

One way to unlock the offensive potential is using Josh Richardson as the primary ball-handler in the offense and using their 6-foot-10 point guard, Ben Simmons, as the screen-setter and roll guy in a pick-and-roll. This offers Simmons an opportunity to use his athleticism and finish ability around the rim and be able to be more efficient on offense.

It began a bit in the second game of the trip against the Miami Heat and it was then used a lot in the loss to the Houston Rockets where they were able to use him a little bit more in that capacity. It offers a different look for them that didn’t have in the past with JJ Redick.

“J-Rich has sort of got that wiggle and can play out of a pick-and-roll,” said coach Brett Brown. “We’ve been playing with it for a while, we did it a lot more in Houston, I think it’s an interesting look. We did some against Miami’s zone. I think Ben is a really good screen-setter, he’s physical, he embraces that side of it, and he’s a dynamic roller. He’s a lob guy, he’s a catch-go guy, and he can facilitate picking off corners as a passer.

We’ll continue to look at that for sure.”

The beneficial thing about Richardson is that he can handle the ball and he has experience of distributing the ball to other teammates. He averaged 4.1 assists with the Miami Heat in the 2018-19 season and he’s averaging 3.5 assists so far with the Sixers. Break it down even further and he’s averaging 4.6 assists over the previous nine games. This can help Simmons even more offensively.

“I think it’s been good,” said Richardson. “I think we’re starting to figure out different ways to use his athleticism. Me coming off, I can usually get the ball over the top or on a pocket pass to a guy rolling like that and he has a radius around the rim. So when he rolls, I can really just throw it up there and he can just go catch it.”

Philadelphia will look to continue to exploit this even further when they look to break out of a slump on Monday against the Oklahoma City Thunder. [lawrence-related id=22745,22736,22719]

Ben Simmons is third-fastest in NBA history to reach 25 triple-doubles

Ben Simmons joined the likes of Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson in NBA history Friday night.

Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons has established himself as one of the NBA’s best playmakers, and on Friday night, he achieved a milestone that put him with two of the best playmakers in league history.

According to Justin Kubatko of Stat Muse, Simmons became the third-fastest player in league history to record 25 career triple-doubles in the Sixers’ loss to the Houston Rockets. Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson are first and second, respectively, on the list for fastest in reaching 25 career triple-doubles.

Simmons earned his third triple-double of the season, scoring a team-high 29 points. He also recorded a team-high 13 rebounds and 11 assists.

At 6-foot-10, Simmons has the court vision of a point guard. With his size, he can drive into the lane for buckets and also defend multiple positions. Simmons ranks fourth in the league for assists per game and first in steals.

While he’s a premier playmaker, a concern with Simmons is that he’s sometimes not aggressive enough when it comes to scoring.

He doesn’t need to shoot a bunch of jumpers, but with his size, he should look to work inside and around the post for buckets as much as possible. He’s averaging 14.9 points a game, which is down from the 16.9 points he averaged last season.

With the Sixers on a four-game losing streak, they’ll look to get a win in Philly against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday.

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Ben Simmons, Brett Brown see positives for Sixers after loss to Rockets

The Philadelphia 76ers saw some positives despite the loss to the Houston Rockets.

The final score on Friday night read that the Philadelphia 76ers lost their fourth straight game to the Houston Rockets and they completed a nightmarish 0-4 road trip. However, there were some positives in the eyes of the Sixers that can be used to move forward.

One was that the Sixers did not lie down. After trailing by as many as 36 and accepting the loss in their previous matchup with the Indiana Pacers, the Sixers battled back in this one. They trailed the Rockets by as many as 18 and they battled back to get it to within single digits before James Harden put them away.

“I liked the way our guys competed,” said coach Brett Brown. “We got down, and we fought back. I think we got it to 105 or 100 after being a very erratic type of game, but I like the spirit of our group.”

Fighting back was a big thing for this Sixers group. They were embarrassed on New Year’s Eve in the loss to Indiana and Friday’s effort was much, much better. Of course, there are no moral victories for a team that has championship aspirations, but this is a step in the right direction.

As a team, point guard Ben Simmons saw some things that the team can take moving forward.

“I think defensively communication was a lot better,” said Simmons. “Offensively, we were just more aggressive in attacking the rim.”

Philadelphia, as repeated on a regular basis, is an oddly constructed team. They are going against the current NBA trend of small ball and are going large with Joel Embiid and Al Horford down low. There are some clear issues that need to be ironed out, but that does not mean that it’s all over and the experiment was a failure. They have to continue to grow as a group and push through.

“Just try different things,” Simmons added. “We just have to stay locked in though. We can’t be too distant from each other. We just have to be a team.”

They will get their next chance to grow on Monday when they return home to host Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the upstart Oklahoma City Thunder. It won’t be an easy game, but being at the Wells Fargo Center should do the team some good as they are 16-2 at home. [lawrence-related id=22659,22650,22639]

James Harden lifts Rockets over Sixers with 44-point triple-double

Continuing a historic run of efficiency, Rockets star James Harden had 44 points, 11 assists, and 11 rebounds in a big win over the 76ers.

Continuing a historic run of efficiency, James Harden had 44 points, 11 assists, and 11 rebounds in a 118-108 victory by the Rockets over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night in Houston (box score).

It’s the first triple-double of Harden’s 2019-20 season and the 43rd of his currently 11-year and eventually Hall of Fame career in the NBA.

The Sixers have considerable length on the perimeter in the form of Josh Richardson and Ben Simmons and double teamed Harden at times, but nothing seemed to work against Harden on a consistent basis.

When coupled with a season-high 30 points from Clint Capela — many on lobs from Harden — and 20 from Russell Westbrook, it was enough to send the Rockets (24-11) to a fourth straight home win.

Friday’s victory was especially impressive, since it came by double digits over a potential title contender in the 76ers (23-14) and followed up an even larger win earlier in the week against the Denver Nuggets (24-10).

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Naturally, Harden helped close the nationally televised game out with a pair of dagger step-back 3-pointers in the final three minutes.

Simmons kept the Sixers in striking distance with a triple-double of his own with 29 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists. The long 6-foot-10 point guard also had four blocks and three steals.

Through 34 games this season, the newly-braided Harden is now averaging 38.4 points per game, which would be the highest total of any NBA player in 56 years and the most by a guard ever.

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But what’s most remarkable is the efficiency. Harden’s 44 points on Friday came on 13-of-24 shooting (54.2%), including 6-of-12 (50.0%) on 3-pointers. The former MVP now has a career-long streak of seven consecutive games shooting at least 50% from the field.

Including Friday’s game, Harden has shot 50.0% or better in 17 of his 34 games played (50%) this season after doing so in 23 of his 78 games played (29.5%) in the 2018-19 season. Excluding an initial nine-game slump to begin this season, the 30-year-old has now finished at 50.0% or better from the field in 16 of his last 25 games (64%).

Harden has also made at least four 3-pointers in 11 consecutive games, with an average of 6.4 made 3-pointers per game over that span on 49.6% shooting from behind the arc.

Whatever the reason, the bottom line is that Harden is even more efficient in 2019-20 than he was in his historic scoring season a year ago — and the results are improving even more as 2019-20 moves along.

Harden and the Rockets (24-11) now have four consecutive off days before resuming play next Wednesday night in Atlanta against the presumably undermanned Hawks (7-28). After Friday’s games, the Rockets are a half-game back of the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers for the No. 2 spot in the Western Conference standings.

The Rockets will now be able to enjoy a rare weekend off before returning to practice on Monday morning at Toyota Center.

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Ben Simmons’ triple-double not enough, Sixers fall to Rockets 118-108

The Philadelphia 76ers were not able to beat the Houston Rockets despite the triple-double by Ben Simmons.

The struggles for the Philadelphia 76ers continued on Friday night as they were not able to overcome 44 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds from James Harden and the Houston Rockets in a 118-108 loss. The loss completes a nightmarish road trip as they went 0-4 on the trip following the Christmas Day win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

Ben Simmons was terrific for Philadelphia as he led the way with 29 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists, Tobias Harris had 24 points, and Joel Embiid had 20 points and 11 rebounds. Trey Burke was the only other Sixer in double-figures as he scored 11 points off the bench.

Individually, Simmons had a terrific game and he was aggressive all night long. He showed off some athleticism and he was great on the defensive end as well.

Al Horford’s struggles continued as he finished with seven points on 3-for-8 shooting and eight rebounds and Josh Richardson added seven points and eight assists. As a team, Philadelphia shot 6-for-26 from deep and shot 46.7% from the floor overall.

The Sixers will finally come home on Monday when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder as they look to finally get back on track. [lawrence-related id=22616,22610,22592]

Brandon Ingram calls out Ben Simmons, others for getting extensions

New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram calls out Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons for his extension.

The thinking surrounding Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons has been a controversial one. Some appreciate him for what he is as a top 25 player and an All-Star and others criticize him for his lack of a jump shot and offensive limitations.

Simmons was awarded with a $170 million contract extension over the summer that will keep him in Philadelphia over the next five years and that contract extension bothered one of hid 2016 draft classmates.

New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram, who was drafted one pick after Simmons in 2016 by the Los Angeles Lakers, expressed some frustrations after he did not receive an extension. Meanwhile, draft mates Simmons, the Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown, and the Sacramento Kings’ Buddy Hield received one and Ingram believes he deserves one and is better than them.

Ingram told ESPN:

“When we talked about the extension, of course, I’m human,” Ingram said. “When I look at other guys, I’m like, ‘This m—–f—– got an extension? Oh my god. Man, we can lace up right now and play one-on-one to 15 and this m—–f—– won’t score.’ That’s how I looked at it as a competitor.”

Ingram is having a bit of a breakout season for New Orleans averaging 25.3 points and 7.0 rebounds while shooting 40.9% from deep, all career highs for him. If he continues to put up that type of production, he will eventually earn his own extension.

In the meantime, Simmons has earned his extension with his terrific all-around play and his All-Star appearance at just 23-years old. Despite his limitations on offense, he is still one of the better players in the league. [lawrence-related id=22610,22592,22603]

Sixers vs. Rockets preview: Sixers look to put a halt to losing streak

The Philadelphia 76ers visit the Houston Rockets on Friday to conclude the road trip.

The Philadelphia 76ers have had a rough go at it recently. They have lost three straight since the impressive win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Christmas Day which then caused a lot of drama as players have expressed their frustrations. They will conclude their road trip on Friday with a visit to the Houston Rockets as they look to break out of this slump.

The Rockets are led by scoring machine James Harden who is putting on a show averaging 38.2 points and 7.5 assists for the Rockets. He’s teaming up with Russell Westbrook as the two have been looking to get Houston to the next level in the Western Conference. This will not be an easy challenge for the Sixers to breakthrough.

With that said, it’s time for the guide to Friday’s matchup:

How to watch Sixers vs. Rockets

  • Date: Friday, January 3
  • Time: 8:00 p.m. EST
  • Location: Toyota Center Houston, TX
  • TV: ESPN, NBC Sports Philadelphia

Injury Report

  • Sixers: OUT: Matisse Thybulle(right knee sprain), DOUBTFUL: James Ennis III(stomach illness)
  • Rockets: OUT: Gerald Green(left cuniform fracture), Nene(left adductor strain)

Storylines

Brown upset with lackluster Sixers

The Sixers have a tendency to play to the level of their opponent meaning they will get up for the big games, but then play down to their next opponent. They also will play lackadaisical and then randomly flip a switch to play up to their expected level. Coach Brett Brown has noticed this issue with his team and he is not happy with the way they handle themselves.

“I definitely see it out of them and it’s not acceptable,” said Brown at practice on Thursday. “I completely sort of coach and live life thinking that good things add up, and you don’t just click your heels and April 14 is here. That’s not how I see anything. We shared that notion today. They’re smart enough to agree.”

Sixers respond to Richardson

The big comment that was made about the Sixers was made by shooting guard Josh Richardson. After the loss to the Indiana Pacers, Richardson spoke on the lack of accountability in the locker room and it resonated with the team. The leaders of the team, Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, had their own opinions on the comments.

“It’s one of those things where it’s ups and downs,” Simmons added. “You’re not going to go 82-0. As long as we stay together and don’t lose our minds, we’re going to be good. I think we’ll be fine.”

While Simmons strongly agreed with his teammate’s claim, Joel Embiid was a little indifferent towards the claim.

“We’re good,” said Embiid. “We’ve had a rough last three games, but we’re good. I don’t really want to share what goes on inside, but we’re good. I feel like everybody has a good spirit and we know we’re going to get out of it…everybody just needs to get their confidence back.”

Prediction

The Sixers have been so unpredictable lately. It’s been tough to really get a read on them. On one hand, the Rockets would be the easy pick because of their superstars and due to the fact that the Sixers have not been playing well as of late. Philadelphia has a tendency to rise to the occasion so this could be one of those games that helps them make a statement, but overall, it’s hard to really predict what will happen in this one.

Pick: Sixers? Rockets? You decide.

Sixers vs. Rockets season series

Game 1 January 3:

Game 2 March 31:

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