Ben Simmons is incredibly advantaged coming into the NBA because of two very distinct basketball skills that are made even better because of his physique.
Ben Simmons is one of the most watched players in summer league so far this go-around. Being the Philadelphia 76ers’ top overall pick from this year’s NBA Draft, that comes with very little surprise.
When the Sixers drafted Simmons, they knew a lot of what he was good at from his time at LSU. What they didn’t know, however, was what he had been capitalizing on in between his season-end at LSU and his season-begin with the Sixers.
Simmons and the Tigers did not make the March Madness tournament, nor did they accept their invitation to the NIT tournament. So when they finished their season in early March, Simmons was left to train by himself, and not put his skills on full-display in real game situations.
For anyone counting, that’s almost five full months in between full competitive games for Simmons. Five months in between when we saw him play last. With the first game coming on July 4th for the Sixers’ summer league, we started seeing how his newfound muscle would help his game, and how he would fare in the NBA and alongside some of the Sixers he will play with even in the regular season.
Simmons has two very distinct skills that he uses. The thing is, the skills he has are not unique, not by themselves. What’s unique about his skills is how his physical qualities take those skills to the next level. Blend his two high-level skills with his physique, and you’ve got some deadly combinations that will lead the Sixers to wins.
Next: Agility
Agility
We’ve heard the term “point-forward” over and over from Simmons and head coach Brett Brown. That’s a term that probably didn’t even exist until this past NBA season, or even the year before, but now we’re starting to hear more and more of it and how it helps teams win games.
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The “point” part of that position is short for “point guard” and point guards are often the most agile, nimble players on the floor. They have no problem handling the ball, utilizing spin moves, and not getting caught up in footwork. They are quick moving and hard to keep up with, and can move around like slithering snakes.
Simmons fits that description well.
First off, one of the things Simmons can do well because of being agile is get close to the baseline and not fall out of bounds. For some players, when they get cornered in between a defender and the court’s perimeter, they can’t help but fall over the line, simply because their balance isn’t good.
Simmons, however, can tip-toe the last of the court’s fair-play zone like a tightrope walker.
Simmons can get down the floor quickly and spin and juke past defenders with ease. Some other players with his size are slower moving, and are stopped easily with one or two defenders stepping front of them. Simmons is different.
The way he handles defenders with his agility makes him unpredictable. He’s light on his feet, and it’s rare to see him thrown off-balance.
The agility allows him to get all over the floor, and makes him incredibly hard to defend. Many NBA players possess that quality, but one of his physical qualities is what takes this to the next level.
Next: Strength
Strength
Just looking at Simmons, even compared to what he looked like at the end of his freshman year at LSU, he’s a big boy. He has a ton of muscle, and is filling out very nicely.
When one pictures an agile player — like I talked about in the last slide — you picture a lighter, more slender player, usually a guard that’s shorter than 6-8 and lighter than (or right around) 200 pounds. Simmons, on the other hand, is 6-10 and 240 pounds.
Couple this with his agility, and he becomes incredibly hard to defend. In the video below, he is able to get inside and challenge a big man, because of his size, but he then is able to spin and be agile getting to the hoop, which a big man is often too slow to contest.
Simmons can use that to score on his own, or quickly pass to another teammate in the key for the finish.
This all may seem very simple to some. So what? He can be agile and have muscle at the same time? But what some may be missing is the idea that this makes it difficult, and at times impossible for the opposing teams to cover Simmons.
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Teams are faced with the challenge of trying to figure out who to play on Simmons. Do you put a power forward on him because of his size? If you do, you may have your person blown by. But if you put a guard, a quicker player that can cover Simmons’ agility easier, they may be outmuscled. If you don’t have someone built similar to Simmons, it’s tough to guard him without changing your entire defensive gameplan.
Simmons will be able to get inside the paint and challenge big men, but then also get around them easier simply because he can move quicker and be more agile than slower moving big men.
To counter this, other defenders may slide over to help the centers and power forwards guarding Simmons in the paint, which will leave Simmons’ teammates open. And that’s where Simmons’ great basketball vision comes in handy.
Next: Vision
Vision
One of the best things we’ve seen from Simmons so far is his passing ability, and that is thanks to his great floor vision. It seems like, at all times, Simmons has eyes on all sides of his body, knowing where all of his four teammates and all five defenders are at any given time.
It seems like he hardly has to think about things when he gets the ball in his hands. He just pushes the ball and moves it where it needs to be.
I mean, just look at this perfectly placed pass:
Some passes would be looked at as bad passes — such as this one — from any other player, but Simmons is able to put the ball in the perfect line to get it to the players who need it.
Okay, here’s a few more passing highlights for your enjoyment. I’m sure you get the point already, but these are too pretty to not let you look at.
What we’ve seen from Simmons is that he’s not only a good scorer, but that the threat of him scoring often draws in opponents, thus leaving his teammates wide open. Since Simmons also has a huge skill of knowing where his teammates are, and where the best shot is, he can get the ball in the hands where it needs to be.
If his teammates are able to knock down their shots, he could be a deadly passer that gets the ball in the hoop whether it be through himself, or someone else.
Next: Height
Height
Although it’s true that Simmons just naturally has a good sense of everything on the floor, part of the reason his vision is so good is his height. Standing at 6-10, Simmons is just as tall as power forwards, and even some centers.
Having that height allows Simmons to see above a lot of his defenders. Since most teams will opt to have shorter, quicker players guard Simmons, they will sacrifice having a tall defender guard Simmons. This will allow him to see above and get close to a bird’s-eye-view of the court.
As I discussed earlier, Simmons having the skills of a guard but the body of a power forward is deadly. He can move the ball around while out-muscling most players, all while having a height advantage over most guards as well.
So, to combat the height and the broad vision, teams could put taller players on Simmons, but they will be at risk of him blowing right past them on his way to the hoop. There really is no good way to guard Simmons. Either you’re allowing him to score easily on his own, or you’re allowing him to easily see where he needs to put the ball in regards to his teammates.
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That just makes it clear that the Sixers need to get some solid players to fill around Simmons, so that when he does give the ball to open players, they can actually sink those shots. Otherwise, his vision is useless.