Defend this
The likely defender to Ben Simmons is expected to be a forward. In fact, that makes the most sense as Simmons will run the offense from a perimeter starting point. Brown confirmed that to Bodner.
he also said he envisions Simmons mostly defending forwards.
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) June 28, 2017
Now it gets fun. Well, fun if you are a true Philadelphia 76ers fan.
Poor defender match-up
If the opponent chooses to guard Ben Simmons with a power forward, as many assert, that is a ridiculous to their scheme as the Philadelphia 76ers defending an opponents point guard with Simmons. The power forward is best near the basket.
As the initiator to the offense, Simmons will not be running his offense entirely on layups and dunks. That means, the opponent’s best defender is pulled away from the basket. Do some teams take that risk? Certainly. But others will not.
And if the team pushes a smaller defender out on Simmons? Then the sky paths of assists opens wide to other players like center Joel Embiid, or Dario Saric.