Philadelphia 76ers: Joel Embiid’s absence revealing the best of Ben Simmons

Ben Simmons has always been great, but Joel Embiid’s absence has allowed the All-Star guard to be closer to his best self for the Philadelphia 76ers.

When Joel Embiid missed the final eight games of the 2017-18 regular season, the Philadelphia 76ers didn’t miss a beat. Already riding an eight-game winning streak, they rattled off another eight to close out the season.

An offensive rating that was 13th all season jumped to No. 2 during that stretch while their defensive rating dropped four points to second-best in the league — from third.

Compared to his regular-season averages that netted Rookie of the Year honors, Simmons increased his rebounds, assists, steals and blocks per game. This while his efficiency from the field went up at the same time his minutes dropped to under 30.

His success in the absence of a superstar teammate makes the pairing as interesting a case study as there is.

The two are a plus-5.7 in over 600 minutes this season, but their games tend to restrict the other from their respective ceilings. Overwhelming talent simply tends to find a way to mesh regardless.

Embiid has now missed the last seven games for the Sixers, during which they are 5-2 with two quality wins against the Brooklyn Nets and a road victory over the Boston Celtics.

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With Al Horford now spacing the court from the center spot, Simmons is getting three more shots in the restricted area with 2.4 more makes per game, bumping his efficiency from 67.6 to 71.1.

His scoring is at 21.3 a night over these last seven games while shooting 62.7 percent from the field. He even took home Player of the Week honors for his stellar play — 21.3 points, 9.5 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game — in leading the Sixers to a 3-1 record.

In Philly’s most recent win in Brooklyn, Simmons’ unique blend of size and skill was on full display.

He matched a career-high with 34 points on 12-of-14 shooting from the field and 10-of-14 from the stripe. With 12 rebounds and 12 assists, it was also his fourth triple-double of the season and his first-ever with more than 30 points.

The Nets tried throwing everyone at Simmons, from Spencer Dinwiddie to Jarrett Allen and anyone else in between. Nobody was successful, not when Simmons had the room to do as he pleased both on and off the ball.

Already regarded as one of the best perimeter defenders in the game, Simmons was everywhere at that end in Brooklyn as well.

He didn’t just register five steals and three blocks. Simmons was part of the reason Dinwiddie shot just 6-of-17 on the night and he also spent time chasing Joe Harris around the arc and battling with bigs Allen and Nicolas Claxton in the paint.

Brett Brown threw Simmons out as the center, thereby allowing him to make plays as a screener surrounded by shooters, and the results were incredible: A plus-13 in 10 minutes of action that included 17 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Simmons was an All-Star last season and will likely get the nod again this year for a 76ers team currently fifth in the East but only two games out of second place at 29-16.

Nobody in the NBA this year is replicating his 16.0 points, 8.5 assists, 7.8 rebounds and league-leading 2.2 steals per game. Only three players in NBA history ever have. Magic Johnson did it four times, Russell Westbrook twice and Michael Jordan once, and Simmons has the highest effective field goal percentage among them.

The criticisms of his shot — or lack thereof — are fair. His unwillingness to shoot results in even stuffier driving lanes for him and teammates. It might be part of the reason why Philly has been bounced in the second round in consecutive playoff appearances.

And yet, despite recent improvements, Giannis Antetokounmpo isn’t much of an outside shooter. Neither was LeBron James early in his career. Both were still the engines behind 60-win seasons with MVP trophies to their name.

Simmons isn’t either of those two, but the indifference to shooting 3-pointers aside, there are reasons why the inefficiencies of LeBron and Giannis from beyond the arc didn’t seem as severe.

Both the Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers understood the importance of 3-point shooting around their superstars. It’s why they ranked among the best in the league during the combined three MVP campaigns.

The Sixers — probably — know that the same philosophy is necessary to get the best of Simmons, but the presence of Embiid, a dominant low-post presence and one of the best players in the game, makes that nearly impossible.

He may never be a great fit alongside Embiid and might have to go elsewhere in pursuit of his ultimate ceiling as an individual.

To act as if that peak doesn’t exist, however, is an egregious choice that fails to highlight the difference between what Simmons can’t do and what the construction of Philly’s roster restricts him from doing.