Philadelphia 76ers: 5 bold predictions for the 2017-18 season

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5. Ben Simmons will lead the team in assists per game

The Philadelphia 76ers haven’t had the cleanest bill of health with their past few draft picks. First, it was center Joel Embiid, their third overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. Embiid missed the entire 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons with a nagging foot injury despite the hype surrounding him.

Then, point-forward Ben Simmons came along as the franchise’s first overall pick since the 1996 NBA Draft (Allen Iverson). The 2016 first overall pick suffered a broken foot injury and stalled the Sixers’ progress in the process.

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Now that he’s back though, look for the ample off-court time to come with a hidden advantage. He’s had time to get acclimated to the culture in Philadelphia and the team seems to have a lot of belief in itself.

With Simmons taking on point guard duties, the acquisition of Markelle Fultz comes with the advantage that they can use him more for his scoring abilities. The Philadelphia 76ers ranked 25th in the NBA in points per game last year (102.4).

That should all change with Ben Simmons as their main ball-handler and facilitator. Expect him to lead the team in assists per game, a significant boost that’s needed.

Simmons averaged 19.2 points, 11.8 rebounds. 4.8 assists and 2.0 steals per game for the LSU Tigers in his lone season. He has underrated skills for a player of his size at 6’10”.

He will have plenty of options to utilize on offense this season in Fultz, Embiid, J.J. Redick, Dario Saric and Robert Covington, just to name a few. With an extra year to learn the game from the side line, look for Simmons to lead the way as playmaker.