Philadelphia 76ers: 2018-19 NBA season preview

Storyline 1: Can Ben Simmons keep filling up the stat sheet?

Ben Simmons’ rookie season is over and now that he’s won the Rookie of the Year award, bigger goals are on his mind like beating the Boston Celtics and becoming a better defensive player. He nearly averaged a triple-double as a rookie last season, averaging 15.8 points, 8.2 assists, 8.1 rebounds and 1.7 steals per contest. Not bad for his time running an NBA offense.

The 76ers have a nice balance of 3-point shooting and interior scoring to be a dominant team in 2018-19, setting the table for another stat-sheet stuffing season for Simmons. He produced 12 triple-doubles last year, the most among rookies in 2017-18, and has a chance to do more with a deeper rotation of players.

Dario Saric shouldn’t be forgotten in a rotation with so many newcomers. Saric put up 14.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game while shooting 39.3 percent from 3-point range in 2017-18. He’s a solid pick-and-pop option to have to offset the contributions of big man Joel Embiid. Then there’s Redick coming off the bench. After putting up a career-high 17.1 points per game last season, he looks prepared to have another career year at 34 years old.

Simmons played a team-high 33.7 minutes per game in 81 appearances last year. He’s a guy that finishes with efficiency, especially when he gets to the paint. With so many 3-point shooters around him now, he’s bound to keep filling up the stat sheet, only now it could produce more triple-double performances.