Philadelphia 76ers: Is the team better without Ben Simmons?

The Philadelphia 76ers have been the center of attention since the playoffs ended last season. Ben Simmons is seemingly forcing his way out of the city, and the media has been eating it up.

It all started when he passed up an open layup in favor of dumping the ball off to Matisse Thybulle. The Sixers went on to lose in Round 2 and the rest is history.

He then decided to show up to practice only to get kicked out by Doc Rivers. Now, Simmons says he is mentally unready to be with the team, and the organization is giving him the proper space to deal with that.

While he is obviously entitled to take as much time as he needs, the team must move along without him. And, to be perfectly honest, they’ve been just fine without him.

On paper, adding another All-Star to Philadelphia’s roster should make them better. However, in reality, not having Simmons around might be what’s best for them as a basketball team.

So far this season, the Sixers are 6-2, as they picked up another win last night over the red hot Bulls. Even more impressive, they did so without Tobias Harris, too.

The only losses on Philadelphia’s schedule this season have come at the hands of the Nets and the Knicks. Those are two bonafide playoff teams in the East.

Meanwhile, they have compiled wins over the Hawks, Trailblazers, and now the Bulls. Of those games, the win over Portland stands out in particular.

The reason it stands out is that not only were the Philadelphia 76ers missing Simmons but Harris and Joel Embiid were out as well. The Trailblazers were not missing any of their stars or key pieces.

Embiid’s scoring is down, and Harris’ is around the same, but Simmons’ departure has opened the door for some of Philadelphia’s guards to take a huge leap.

Seth Curry is averaging over 16 points a game this season, Tyrese Maxey is averaging around 14, and Shake Milton is averaging around 11. Even Furkan Korkmaz and Georges Niang are averaging in the double digits.

To make matters worse for Simmons, the Philadelphia 76ers have improved in one of the main areas he helps in – assists. Last season, they ranked 22nd in assists per game, while this year they are ranked 11th.

Even worse, the subtraction of Simmons has turned the 76ers from a mid-tier three-point shooting team (11th in 3PT%) to an elite three-point shooting team (3rd in 3PT%).

Their defense has gotten slightly worse, but their improved offense is making up for it. There’s only so much complaining that can be done with a 6-2 record.

All of these improvements don’t bode well for Simmons at all. Maybe the Philadelphia 76ers really are just better off without him in general.