Ben Simmons Plays As Advertised In His Sixers Debut

In his debut for the Sixers, Ben Simmons played as advertised. But he did leave the game cramps in both of his calves and will not play tomorrow night.

After a missed shot attempt from James Young, Ben Simmons hauled in the rebound and began the break.

At 6-10, 240 pounds, running like a gazelle, the former point-foward from Louisiana State University made a no-look bounce pass to Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot who finished at the rim to make it 32-30 Philadelphia 76ers with 6:32 remaining in the second quarter.

Three possessions later, Simmons swung the ball from the foul line over two Boston Celtics defenders to a wide open Richaun Holmes for the easy slam.

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In his Sixers debut, Simmons finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and five assists, while the Sixers lost 102-94 to the Celtics at the Vivint Smart Home Arena in Utah.

Simmons was everything as advertised on Monday. He grabbed rebounds and lead the break. Controlled the tempo of the offense. Got his teammates involved. And got to the rim on several occasions, which later turned into points at the free-throw line.

Simmons went 6/6 from the free-throw line. He shot 67 percent from the free-throw line at LSU.

Not only did his performance stand out amongst the competition, but his feel for the game for a 19-year old was pretty impressive.

In the beginning of the second quarter, Simmons controlled the offense at the top of the arc and began dribbling towards his left. He then dished a pass over his shoulder to a wide open Luwawu, who hit a three to make it 28-27 Philadelphia in the second quarter.

Luwawu, the No. 24 overall pick in the NBA Draft, put up 13 points, three rebounds, one assist and one block in his Sixers debut.

At the start of the third quarter, Simmons started right where he left off in the passing game.

As he began to drive, he made another no-look pass over his head, this time to Richaun Holmes. Holmes was fouled and made the game 49-46 Sixers by going 2/2 from the line

Holmes had a busy night for the Sixers by recording 13 points and five blocks.

Simmons’ communication skills on offense also stuck out tonight. Often when he had the ball at the top of the arc, the point forward was directing his players where to go on the floor.

One of the criticisms of Simmons prior to the draft was that he didn’t possess the willingness to win since he couldn’t lead his team to the NCAA tournament. Another was that he elected not play for Australia’s olympic team, however.

Those were put to rest against the Celtics.

In the fourth quarter, Simmons recorded his fourth assist of the night by beaming a pass through the defense to TJ McConnell to make the game 75-73 Celtics with 9:31 remaining.

Christian Wood would then hit his first three of the night, which was assisted by Simmons, to make it 80-76 Boston with 8:35 left in the fourth quarter.

Wood put up a game-high 20 points by shooting 77 percent from the floor on the night.

A scary moment occurred for the Sixers with 4:40 remaining in the game. After being blocked by Jaylen Brown on a lay-up attempt, Simmons started to grab at his right calf and ankle.

Simmons exited the game earlier due to his ankle and was seen attempting to stretch it out on the sideline.

NBATV later reported he was experiencing cramps and would not return for the rest of the game.

After the game, the Sixers announced he will not play against the San Antonio Spurs tomorrow night due to cramps in both of his calves.

Boston held the lead for the remainder of the game, while the Sixers failed to make a comeback in the final minutes.

James Webb III converted on a reverse lay-up to put the Sixers within five at 98-93 with about a minute remaining in the game.

But on the following offensive possession, Levi Randolph missed a wide-open three with 41 seconds left.

Webb later turned over the ball, which was stolen by Terry Rozier, who then put the nail in the coffin with an emphatic slam to make it 102-94 Boston with 18 seconds left in the game.

Rozier led Boston with 18 points by shooting 6/13 from the field. Five players from Boston put up double-figures, and they also shot 50 percent from three-point range.

The Sixers will play their next Summer League game Tuesday night against the Spurs at 5 p.m. at the Vivint Smart Home Arena in Utah.