Tag: Ben Simmons

Brett Brown says Sixers need to grow Ben Simmons’ perimeter game

Philadelphia 76ers coach Brett Brown says the Sixers need to grow Ben Simmons’ perimeter game.

The big storyline surrounding the Philadelphia 76ers has always been Ben Simmons and his lack of a jump shot. In the 2018 and the 2019 playoffs, the Sixers fell in the semifinals due to teams walling off Simmons’ path to the basket and forcing him to take jump shots to where he was not able to make a big impact.

Simmons has made two three-pointers so far in 2019-20, a big development on his part, but he still is reluctant to take any from the perimeter this season even after coach Brett Brown mentioned that he would like him to take a 3-pointer a game. He gave a bit of an explanation on Sunday in Brooklyn, but his perimeter game must be grown for them to succeed in the playoffs.

“I spend so much with Ben talking about spacing,” said Brown. “This is an ongoing discussion that we have been having and it’s not as clear or as simple when you digest the tape, you see what he sees. There are times when he just eats space and doesn’t accept space, he uses the space to play downhill and the bottom line is, we need to grow his perimeter game.”

It’s no secret that Simmons’ strength is attacking the rim. He averages 5.6 shot attempts per game at the rim and he averages 3.6 attempts per game from 3-10 feet out. That will work in the regular season, but when the postseason rolls around and their level of competition rises, he needs to understand that he needs to take these jumpers to spread the floor.

“It starts with space, out of a post, out of a pick-and-roll, not when he’s in the post, not when he’s in the pick-and-roll, when he’s out of the action,” Brown added. “Those are the areas that we have been talking a little bit about and he’s been great. He sees it and he shares things with me too that I give him credit for and so this is a partnership. I am here to help him help us, help himself and that I’ll continue to try to do.”

The good news is, the Sixers have a great record overall sitting at 20-8 as the Christmas mark of the season approaches rapidly. The team has also earned some statement victories such as wins over the Boston Celtics and the Toronto Raptors and they have a matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks on Christmas at home despite Simmons’ reluctance to take jumpers.

This is something that will have to change when the playoffs begin. This team has high championship aspirations and to get to that point, a lot of it will come down to Simmons and his development in that area. [lawrence-related id=21509,21501,21485]

Sixers’ Ben Simmons in top 5 in deflections, loose balls recovered

Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons continues to do all of the little things on the floor for the Sixers.

To be one of the best defenders in the league, you have to be able to do all of the little things all over the floor. For Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons, he’s doing just that for his team on the defensive end of the floor.

Simmons, whose stated goal was to be the best defender on the team, is in the top 5 in both deflections and in loose balls recovered. Those two stats aren’t the most eye-popping when measuring a good defender, but they are two of the most important in the grand scheme of things.

He ranks second in deflections with 100 just behind New Orleans Pelicans point guard Jrue Holiday who has 119.

He also ranks second in loose balls recovered with 54 as he is just one behind Houston Rockets forward P.J. Tucker.

Simmons’ ability to make all of the hustle plays as well as average 2.1 steals per game puts average him squarely in the best defender conversation. He also has been able to switch between defending multiple positions on the floor so that will add fuel to his argument as well. [lawrence-related id=21485,21475,21466]

Sixers’ Ben Simmons explains reluctance to take 3-pointers in games

Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons explains his reluctance to take 3-pointers in games.

Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons is one of the more talented players in the league. He’s able to affect the game in so many ways both offensively and defensively whether it’s grabbing a rebound and starting a break or if it’s locking up a guy and making his life miserable all night.

The one thing that has hindered his career so far is his lack of a jump shot. That has begun to change a bit in 2019-20 as he has made the first two 3-pointers of his career, but it still is not enough. He has only taken five 3-pointers all season and in a league that is so 3-point driven, the Sixers need him to take more shots from the perimeter.

Coach Brett Brown recently said that he’d like Simmons to take at least one 3-pointer per game, but in the five games since that comment, he has only taken one 3-pointer and it was a heave to end the quarter.

Brown said that night:

“This is what I want, I want a 3-point shot a game, minimum,” said Brown. “The pull-up 2’s, I’m fine with, whatever, he’s open, but I’m interested in the 3-point shot.”

Simmons’ two 3-pointers had come from the corners, which is hard to get to within the flow of the offense for a point guard like Simmons who excels at getting to the basket. The 3-point shot will come with time.

“I think just getting into my spots,” said the All-Star. “Being the point guard, you don’t want to come down and just jack up every time. I’m finding that rhythm and getting into situations where I feel comfortable.”

For Philadelphia to take the next step in the East, the shot will have to come for him in the playoffs. It would benefit him to begin taking shots now in the regular season in order to prepare for those moments in late April and May. [lawrence-related id=21449,21440,21429]

Ben Simmons on Spencer Dinwiddie: ‘I love the way he plays’

Spencer Dinwiddie helped lead the Brooklyn Nets to a win over the Philadephia 76ers on Sunday — and he turned some heads in the process.

Spencer Dinwiddie had another impressive performance for Brooklyn on Sunday. The point guard scored 24 points for the third game in a row, marking the 13th time he’s scored 20 or more points in the last 15 games — all of which Kyrie Irving has missed due to a right shoulder impingement.

In the course of his 9-for-21 shooting performance (2-for-4 from three), Dinwiddie caught everyone’s attention when he posterized Sixers forward Tobias Harris in the third quarter. It served as yet another example of how the point guard has elevated his game to another level.

And the league has taken notice — including Sixers point guard Ben Simmons, who praised Dinwiddie after their matchup on Sunday:

He’s aggressive. He’s very talented. He gets downhill, loves downhill. He just plays. He plays with that freedom. I love the way he plays, but he dominates.

Quote provided by Ky Carlin of the USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s Sixers Wire.

RELATED: WATCH: Spencer Dinwiddie posterizes Tobias Harris

Ben Simmons, Sixers upset with lack of pace in road loss to Nets

The Philadelphia 76ers were upset with the lack of pace in a loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday.

The Philadelphia 76ers were missing superstar big man to Joel Embiid on Sunday when they faced the Brooklyn Nets on the road. Due to this unfortunate fact, that normally means the Sixers play at a much faster pace with Ben Simmons leading the way.

However, that was not the case as they only had eight fastbreak points compared to 23 for the Nets and it caused a lot of issues for Philadelphia all night long in a 109-89 loss.

“The pace was too slow,” said Simmons who finished with 20 points and five rebounds. “There were a lot of lapses defensively – off ball, especially with (Joe) Harris on ball. They just had a lot of those actions where it’s tough to guard, but we have to get back and watch the film.”

It was a tough night all-around for the Sixers who also allowed 64 points in the paint with Joel Embiid out. Al Horford returned after missing two games with a left leg injury, but he and backup Norvel Pelle could not make up for the loss of the big man.

“Too many layups,” said Pelle. “Just too many layups honestly. That’s it. I felt like I wasn’t defending the rim as best as I could, but we’ll fix it…we definitely came out and tried to play as fast as possible and whatnot, but the result was a lack of defense.”

With the Sixers wanting to play at a faster pace, it led to a few turnovers that allowed Brooklyn to get out and run at will. Philadelphia did commit 16 turnovers which led to 21 Nets points.

“I think it is a little bit,” said coach Brett Brown. “We ended up having 16 turnovers, probably having two too many. I feel like the speed notion that we wanted to play we felt like that was still the right formula. It’s just that the defensive side of things let us down. I think the statistical facts of what we shot from three and what we shot from the free-throw line shows our starting group had a rough night putting the ball in the hole and the accumulation of a few things equal a long night.”

The Sixers will now have two days off before returning home to host Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat for the second time this season on Wednesday. [lawrence-related id=21421,21400,21392]

Sixers vs. Nets preview: Sixers return to Brooklyn for playoff rematch

The Philadelphia 76ers visit the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday at the Barclays Center.

The Philadelphia 76ers will continue their growth and development as a team on Sunday when they hit the road again and face the Brooklyn Nets for the first time since the two teams met in the playoffs back in April. While the two teams look a little different, a trip to Brooklyn will rekindle some memories from a brief, yet entertaining, playoff series.

The Nets are still working through their own growth issues as they are working through injuries to superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving as well as trying to work their younger guys into things. They lost to the Toronto Raptors on Saturday in Toronto 110-102.

With that said, it’s time for the guideline to this game:

How to watch Sixers vs. Nets

  • Date: Sunday, December 15
  • Time: 6:00 p.m. EST
  • Location: Barclays Center Brooklyn, NY
  • TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia

Injury Report

  • Sixers: QUESTIONABLE: Al Horford(left knee soreness)
  • Nets: NOT YET SUBMITTED

Storylines

Brown upset with Sixers’ execution

The Sixers may have finished off the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday with a win, but it was not all that pretty. There was some sloppy execution and there were a lot of moments that showed off that there are still some growing pains for his team. Coach Brett Brown was not happy with how the game unfolded despite his team coming out on top on the scoreboard.

“There are some good things that happened in that game and there are some poor things,” said coach Brett Brown. “My mind is completely on ‘What do we have to do to not be in that situation?’ Some of it is you missed some free throws, in fact you missed a lot of free throws, some of it is we had poor fouls, we fouled them too much when it mattered most in the last three minutes.”

Harris building All-Star case

For the Sixers to be successful in the 2019-20 season, they will need Harris to play at a high level after the team gave him a $180 million contract over the summer. So far, he is responding as 19.8 points and 7.0 rebounds and he is shooting 32.5% from deep. Break that down over the last 16 games and he’s averaging 22.1 points and 41.2% from deep. It’s that type of play that is building a legitimate All-Star case for February.

“I’d love to be an All-Star, it’s a goal of mine as a player, I thought last year I was an All-Star at the beginning of the season,” Harris said. “It didn’t happen that way, but I think each and every night, I want to play at my best every single night to help us win games. I know when I’m aggressive and I’m getting things in the flow, I’m a very hard player to guard. I’m on this team to score the basketball and play at that level every single night.”

Prediction: The Sixers do struggle on the road, but they are beginning to find their groove. They are coming off an emotional road win over the Boston Celtics on Thursday and then returned home the very next night and fought off the Pelicans. The Nets are a scrappy team led by Spencer Dinwiddie, Joe Harris, and Jarrett Allen, but the Sixers are much more talented and they are finding a groove. Philadelphia should be able to win this one.

Pick: Sixers pull away in the second half

Sixers vs. Nets season series

Game 1 December 15:

Game 2 January 15:

Game 3 January 20:

Game 4 February 20:

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Which Nets will be challenged most in back-to-back vs. Raptors, Sixers

The Nets have two difficult games ahead of them on Saturday and Sunday. Several players on Brooklyn’s roster will face major challenges.

Part of the reason it was important for the Nets to win each of their two recent games against the Charlotte Hornet was Brooklyn has a challenging back-to-back in front of them.

Saturday, they’re on the road against the Toronto Raptors. Then they head back to Barclays Center to face the Philadelphia 76ers. Two teams toward the top of the Eastern Conference.

Now, both teams have some impressive guards in Kyle Lowry (Raptors) and Ben Simmons (Sixers), so Spencer Dinwiddie and Garrett Temple will be busy. But their best players are bigs.

Toronto has Pascal Siakam. Philadelphia has Joel Embiid — who just torched the Boston Celtics.

Now, the Raptors also have Marc Gasol and Philly has Al Horford — assuming he’s healthy by Sunday. Both create problems — different ones from one another — but Siakam and Embiid set the tone for their respective teams.

Either way, four Nets are going to be very busy for the next two games: Jarrett Allen, Taurean Prince, DeAndre Jordan and Wilson Chandler.

Now, Chandler won’t be available until Sunday. He’ll have to help with Horford and keep track of him along the perimeter whenever he spells Prince. The forward will get the chance to prove his worth right away.

Though, Prince has to worry about Saturday’s game first. Siakam improved immensely in 2018-19, and he’s better this year if you can believe it. This is a big test for Prince, and he’ll need some help from Brooklyn’s two centers.

For Allen and Jordan, Embiid will be a tough matchup, of course. He’s the game’s best center.

And Sunday’s game could be one where Jordan starts. As much as Embiid can shoot the three a bit, teams are willing to give up the long ball. They’d rather put up a fight in the paint.

Either way, Allen’s strength will be challenged — big time. Even if he struggles, a matchup with Embiid should give the young center a greater understanding of how he needs to further his game in order to continue his ascension as one of the NBA’s better centers.

RELATED: Kyrie Irving’s on-court work has ‘ramped up,’ still out vs. Raptors

Tobias Harris says ‘Hack-a-Ben’ strategy good for Simmons, Sixers

Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris believes “hack-a-Ben” is good for Ben Simmons.

In an attempt to work their way back into the game on Friday, the New Orleans Pelicans pulled out the old “Hack-a-Ben” strategy on Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons. The Sixers All-Star has a history of being a poor foul shooter and on Friday, he shot 6-for-10 from the line as it allowed the Pelicans to make a game of it late.

It wasn’t enough as the Sixers were able to come away with a 116-109 win to improve to 14-0 at home, but the poor shooting from the foul line concerned coach Brett Brown as he was upset with his team’s sloppy play overall. However, Tobias Harris believes it is a good thing for Simmons to go through.

“Honestly, I like that they fouled. I think it’s good,” said Harris. “Come playoff time, if teams decide to do that, we can’t afford to take him out of the game. He’ll be confident enough to be able to knock those shots down and we’ll need that especially if we’re talking long term and down the line.”

Simmons did knock down two free throws late when the Pelicans went with that strategy again, but it was because he was able to get into a rhythm. When he’s able to get that many free throws in, he’s able to shoot his way into a groove and he’s able to eventually find a way to knock those shots down.

“Definitely, yeah,” Simmons said succinctly as he shrugged off the misses.

He is not a player short on confidence in himself. The free throws are a problem to where they’re going to need him to step up and knock down shots, but over time he can get better in this area if teams are going to continue to utilize this strategy. It all comes with repetition over time to continue to get better. [lawrence-related id=21321,21313,21304]

Tobias Harris, Sixers handle pesky Pelicans in 116-109 win

Tobias Harris put forth another impressive performance and helped lead the Sixers past the Pelicans.

It didn’t go exactly as planned, but the Philadelphia 76ers got the win that was expected of them Friday night with a 116-109 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. The Sixers maintained their perfect home record which now stands at 14-0 and improved to 20-7 on the season.

Things started out in the way we expected them to, with the Sixers building a 14-point lead by the end of the first quarter. However, the Pelicans cut the deficit down to five at the half, setting the stage for a tightly contested (and time-consuming) second half.

The Sixers restored a bit of order in the third quarter, building the lead back to 10 at the start of the fourth, but to the Pelicans’ credit they refused to go away and made the Sixers work right until the final buzzer to earn the victory. Some missed free throws down the stretch by the Sixers helped the Pelicans cause, but ultimately Philadelphia made enough plays to hold New Orleans off. It’s worth noting that although the Pelicans stayed within reach, it never really felt like the Sixers were losing control of the game.

Tobias Harris continued his stellar stretch of play, leading the Sixers with 31 points on 12-of-20 shooting. He added five rebounds and two assists and continues to get big buckets for the team. Harris has eclipsed the 20-point mark seven times in his last eight games and it’s hard to overstate how important he has been for the Sixers.

Joel Embiid delivered another strong performance, finishing with 24 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, a steal, and a block. He also only had two turnovers. He wasn’t as efficient as he was against the Celtics, shooting 6-of-16, but he made up for it by earning 14 trips to the free-throw line, connecting on 11 of them. It’s worth noting that Embiid was once again playing the second of a back-to-back, and he managed to produce Friday’s stat line after playing 36 minutes in Boston on Thursday.

Ben Simmons bounced back with a much more aggressive and productive offensive game Friday night, scoring 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field and 6-of-10 from the charity stripe. He added 11 assists, three rebounds, three steals, and two blocks. Simmons had just one turnover.

Josh Richardson chipped in eight points and five rebounds, while Mike Scott again got the start for Al Horford and added five points and nine rebounds.

James Ennis III again gave the Sixers some really good minutes off the bench, finishing with 10 points, three assists, two rebounds, and a block. Norvel Pelle also provided a spark off the bench with six points, five rebounds, three blocks, and two assists. Two of those blocks came on back-to-back possessions and led to a dunk and a 3-pointer at the other end for the Sixers.

Considering it was the second game of a back-to-back and following an intense road win against a rival, it was a nice, gritty win for the Sixers.

The Miami Heat lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in Miami Friday night, leaving the Sixers as the lone NBA team that is perfect at home. Philadelphia’s win also pushed the Sixers into second place in the Eastern Conference.

The Sixers will look to continue their solid play on Sunday when they take on the Nets in Brooklyn. That game is scheduled for a 6:00 PM tip. [lawrence-related id=21272,21261,21239,21229]

Sixers vs. Celtics preview: Al Horford makes his return to Boston

The Philadelphia 76ers hit the road to face the Boston Celtics on Thursday.

The Philadelphia 76ers are looking to head to Boston and take their home dominance with them on the road as they face the rival Celtics on Thursday as Al Horford makes his first return trip to Boston. It will mark the second time the rivals have faced off with each other after the Sixers knocked off Boston on opening night back in October.

Philadelphia is 13-0 at home, but they are just 5-7 on the road as they have not been able to find that groove on the road. They dropped their last road matchup on December 5 to the Washington Wizards and Thursday’s game will not be an easy mission to achieve a win.

With that said, now is the time for the guide to the game:

How to watch Sixers vs. Celtics

  • Date: Thursday, December 12
  • Time: 8:00 p.m. EST
  • Location: TD Garden Boston, MA
  • TV: TNT

Injury Report

  • Sixers: NONE
  • Celtics: NOT YET SUBMITTED

Storylines

Simmons excited for Horford’s return

Whenever the Sixers and the Celtics matchup, there’s always anticipation, but on Thursday night, there will be more juice with the return of Horford after leaving for the Sixers in free agency. Horford tormented the Sixers when he was a member of the Celtics for the previous three seasons and Ben Simmons is excited to face Boston on the road with Horford on their side.

“For me, I want to win just based on it’s the Celtics,” Simmons said. “But on top of that, it’s Al’s former team. He was a great player there, but it would be amazing to get that one, too.”

Embiid wants to have fun

There was a moment in Tuesday’s win over the Denver Nuggets where star big man Joel Embiid shimmied to the crowd after a big play. It’s something that he feels like he needs to do more in order to dominate out on the floor.

“I haven’t done it enough all season,” said the big man. “I have not been having fun, just mainly because I’m trying to figure out how to make it work and stuff. It goes back to me being mature and one of the biggest parts of my game is just having fun and by having fun is talking trash, but that part has kind of been cut. I just need to be myself and do whatever I want, because when I’m having fun, I dominate.”

Embiid has been struggling with balancing being mature and also being the trash talker that he has been known to be on the floor. He says things changed after his brawl with Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns.

“Everybody has been talking,” the star added. “I’m not trying to be a distraction to the team. The fight happened and we had good momentum and from there we kind of lost it and lost a couple games. I’m not trying to be a distraction, but that’s just part of my game and I feel like me losing that part has taken a toll on my game. Sometimes I might be childish, but I care about winning. Everybody knows that. I’ll do whatever it takes to win.”

Prediction

All signs point to the Sixers being able to get a win on Thursday. They had an off day of preparation while the Celtics were locked in a battle with the Indiana Pacers. However, this team has given poor performances in the past–see Wizards, December 5–so it’s impossible to really tell which team shows up on Thursday. The Sixers should win this one, but it won’t be easy.

Pick: Sixers in a close one

Sixers vs. Celtics season series

Game 1 October 23: 107-93 Sixers

Game 2 December 12:

Game 3 January 9:

Game 4 February 1:

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