More Than Healing A Foot
Ben Simmons is on the mend. And he hangs in elite circles in the NBA.
LeBron James says that Ben Simmons is a great talent, but even better person, and that Sixers fans should be excited. pic.twitter.com/v3uRjBdVxv
— brianseltzer (@brianseltzer) November 5, 2016
But Philly does not hand out awards for who you know, or even what you know. The blue collar show-me fans of Philadelphia want to be wowed. Something like Joel Embiid going four out of four from the three-point range against the defending champs Cleveland Cavaliers.
To do so, he needs to be working hard. Not just on the basketball court, but in the analytics room, sitting next to the coaches. Simmons needs to be doing more than healing himself. He needs to be diagnosing the team right now, and preparing to deliver the cure.
Isn’t that a pretty tall order for a one-and-done rookie?
Why yes, yes it is.
But from the moment a hopeful prospect is selected as the top NBA draft choice in the NBA draft, that is the legacy. Ben Simmons must know the Philadelphia 76ers as well as head coach Brett Brown. He must understand what the team is doing right, and what the team is doing wrong.
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Ultimately, he must cure the ailments of this team. His work ethic must become the team’s work ethic. He must acquire and deliver all of these skills before he returns to the basketball court in early 2017. Some think that the time awaiting Ben Simmons arrival is far too long. Me? I’m not certain it will be long enough.