Grading the Philadelphia 76ers Starting Lineup: Ben Simmons

With the 2019-2020 NBA season on hold, now is a good time to evaluate the Philadelphia 76ers’ starting lineup. Today, we look at point guard Ben Simmons.

When The Process began, the goal was simple: acquire as much top-tier talent as possible. To truly achieve this, the Philadelphia 76ers turned to the NBA Draft. Ultimately, the team hit on some picks while brutally missing on others. One of the key pieces that ended up landing was point guard Ben Simmons.

Simmons presents an interesting proposition. On the one hand, you have a 6’10” point guard who is athletic and can cover virtually any position. On the other, you have a player who avoids shooting the ball. At the point guard position, the latter could prove detrimental to any team’s success.

However, a lot goes into a team’s success threshold. Obviously, it takes more than one piece to make the cogs turn. There needs to be a sense of unity and overall fit. If one piece doesn’t quite fit, it needs to fit in other ways. Here, Simmons has found himself in that sort of predicament.

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Offense

Simmons is known for quite a few things: his athleticism, his size, and his passing ability. Ever since high school, Simmons has been in the public spotlight, as fans marveled at his athletic prowess. Simmons provides the speed of a 6’3” guard with the size and wingspan of a wing. It’s a combination that, until recently, would have been seen as unheard of.

Since his first year in the NBA, Ben Simmons has shown signs of being a unique talent. In his first three seasons, Simmons averaged 16.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 8.0 assists per game. Across the board, Simmons has been able to hover around this stat line throughout his career. Simply put, you know what you are gonna get when Ben Simmons steps on the floor.

The biggest change, however, besides the fact that he’s hit two threes this season, has been in his efficiency. Simmons went from shooting 54.5 percent to 58.5 percent from the field throughout three seasons. On top of that, Simmons’ free throw percentage has gone from 53.0 percent to 62.7 percent. If Simmons can reach the 70 percent mark, that part of his game will not be a liability anymore. For now, he’s making solid progress. This gives us an indication that Simmons his hitting the shots he wants to take. Quite frankly, this is a good sign.

Over time, the goal is that Simmons can get a serviceable jump-shot to help compliment the rest of his game. As it currently stands, that dream won’t become a reality this season. Nevertheless, Simmons continues to improve on the offensive end, even if it is incrementally. Just because he doesn’t have a jump-shot yet, doesn’t mean he can’t be effective.

Defense

On the defensive side of the ball, Simmons has improved dramatically. Coming into the NBA, the thought process when evaluating Simmons was simply that he has the body to become a great defender. At 6’10” with that sort of lateral quickness, it seemed like a no-brainer that Simmons would eventually become a solid NBA defender. Even so, no one expected it to happen within his first three seasons.

Before this season, Simmons was not covering the opposing team’s best player. Usually, that role went to Jimmy Butler or Joel Embiid. With Butler gone, Simmons found himself stepping into this role. So far, it has paid dividends for Philadelphia. He has had to take on players like Jimmy Butler, Jayson Tatum and Pascal Siakam.

This season, he found a way to throw himself into the Defensive Player of the Year conversation, having averaged a career-high 2.1 steals per game. This places him at the top of the NBA in that category (in addition to a league-high 115 total steals). On top of that, Simmons boasts a 2.4 defensive box plus/minus, placing him eighth in the NBA in that category. He’s also eleventh in the NBA in defensive win shares with 3.2.

Overall

As such, the story of Ben Simmons can be told with two sides. On the one side, we have a player who has been consistent on the offensive end. His play on that side of the ball has been fairly linear, with no real exponential growth. On the other side, we have a player who has ramped up his game on defense. Simmons has shown true promise defensively, making quite the statement.

Ultimately, it’s hard to truly evaluate Simmons because of a recent back injury that kept him out of 11 games. But, with the sample at hand, the Sixers have a true building block on their team.

Landing two NBA All-Star game appearances in his first three seasons, there is no doubt that Simmons has star potential. For this season, it would be safe to give Simmons a B grade. While his offense has not been as prolific as one might hope, his defense has made up for it. Hopefully, Simmons can hone his craft and continue to thrive in Philly.