Philadelphia 76ers: Ben Simmons' elite defensive potential

Philadelphia 76ers rookie Ben Simmons‘ skillful approach to the offensive end often garners the most praise — but his defensive upside is equally as promising.

Throughout the entirety of the 2016 offseason, Ben Simmons was almost universally dubbed the NBA Draft’s best prospect. He was a quick 6-10 forward with the most advanced passing skills in the class, and boasted a level of offensive upside that some found comparable to a handful of the league’s all-time greats.

While some of those expectations may not come to fruition, the general consensus is that Simmons is a special player with a special combination of tools — something nobody would rightly deny at this stage. With that said, though, almost all of that praise is related to the offensive end.

His LeBron James comparisons are derived solely from him being a point forward, and there is little, if any , praise stemming from his defensive potential. That’s something that ought to change.

Simmons fits ideally in today’s evolving game.

With the game itself seeing such radical shifts in recent years, defensive philosophy has had to make alterations alongside it. Pace-and-space is proving to be the catalyst for a number of the league’s most explosive offensive groups, and small ball rotations and ultra-versatile lineup combinations have proven to be the most effective route of attaining that in several instances.

That’s why Simmons fits so well.

In today’s NBA more than ever, interior defenders — especially at the four spot — have to be able to stretch out to the perimeter at some point. Having players who can excel in a switch-heavy regime allows coaches to more freely orchestrate the defensive setup, and also gives teams the opportunity to throw different looks at the opposition’s most effective players on a nightly basis.

Simmons is already set to take over the point guard role on the offensive side of the ball, but he’ll likely defend either the threes or fours on the defensive end. That’s where his immense versatility comes into play.

Where Simmons fits in with a solid defensive rotation for Philadelphia:

The Sixers are currently the top-ranked defensive team in the country with Joel Embiid on the floor during the month of January. Embiid’s lateral quickness allows him to switch onto the perimeter without being too much of a liability, and thus Simmons could add a new wrinkle to an already-effective set of rotations.

Where exactly Simmons is slotted defensively depends on who he replaces in the rotation. If he bumps out T.J. McConnell from day one, he’ll likely guard the three, keeping Ersan Ilyasova at the four. The same goes for if he replaces Covington. If he replaces Ilyasova, however, he would likely guard the four.

Must Read: 5 Ways Simmons Immediately Improves 76ers

At this point, is seems that Simmons will — once healthy — be replacing T.J. for the rest of the season, with some major shifts bound to come post-draft next season. That slots him at the small forward spot defensively, which could give him some unique opportunities.

Ilyasova is obviously the weak point of such a defensive rotation, but his savvy in drawing charges underneath the basket and overall I.Q. helps mitigate some of his weaknesses.

Nik Stauskas, albeit not exceptional, has shown that he’s capable of defending one through three at a respectable level this season, while Robert Covington remains a more-than-solid wing defender.

A breakdown of Simmons’ effectiveness:

While defense wasn’t a focal point of the scouting report with Simmons during his time at LSU, he did show some very promising flashes, as he got nearly a block per game while spending a good deal of his time switching between the post and the perimeter.

His effort is off and on at times, but he shows solid attentiveness in a variety of coverages, and shifts some of his notably high basketball I.Q. to the defensive end on a relatively consistent basis.

VIDEO

Here Simmons shifts onto the best perimeter scorer in college basketball, Buddy Hield. Notice how he has the foot speed to stay in front of him off the bounce, forcing him to pass out of a drive. He then closes out nicely to the perimeter, forcing a contested three.

Here Simmons shows some great defensive instincts out of the interior. He slips through the screen with impressive quickness and gets into the passing lane to force the turnover.

Here’s Simmons showing his instincts in the open court in transition, shifting from a sprint the other direction to a steal heading the opposite way on a dime.

Here Simmons does a nice job of forcing a pass, helping on the drive, then still closing back out to the perimeter to force a Dorian Finney-Smith drive — and eventual jump ball.

Finally, here Simmons is able to stay with the opposing guard off the bounce and utilize his length to prevent a successful shot.

There’s clearly an expansive skill set that Simmons brings to the table defensively. He can play that free safety-esque role, for lack of a better metaphor, that we see the likes of Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo excel in. They’re able to cover a lot of ground and make plays in multiple different facets, leading to high returns all around.

Ben Simmons’ defense meshes well with the Sixers’ currently direction.

This is a Sixers team that has made a plethora of improvements offensively this season, but defense has still been the steadfast catalyst behind almost every win this season. Their aggressiveness is something that can bother opposing players and it in turn allows them to control the tempo of the game more so than they have in years past.

A large part of that is due to Embiid’s presence. He displays some incredibly sound instincts around the basket, and is an offseason of added polish away from being the most intimidating non-Rudy Gobert center in the league. He’s a quality fall back option at the rim, and allows the perimeter defenders to take chances that Okafor — and even Noel — haven’t allowed them to take before.

Next: Examining the 76ers' Options to Solve the Point Guard Problem

Simmons, however, gives them somebody who could legitimately lift the unit to the next level. His effort was suspect at times in college, and that’ll obviously need to change at the next level, but his mobility around the full expanse of the court could throw a lot of teams off their typical game plan.

Embiid and Simmons have some really nice potential as a defensive pairing — they just have to maximize it.

Ben Simmons’ Elite Defensive Potential

By Christopher Kline | Jan 23, 2017