The Sixer Sense
Fansided

Roundtable: Thoughts on Ben Simmons’ first month

By Christopher Kline

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 13: Ben Simmons #25 of the Philadelphia 76ers reacts to his rebound during a 109-105 win over the LA Clippers at Staples Center on November 13, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 13: Ben Simmons #25 of the Philadelphia 76ers reacts to his rebound during a 109-105 win over the LA Clippers at Staples Center on November 13, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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SACRAMENTO, CA – NOVEMBER 09: Ben Simmons #25 of the Philadelphia 76ers warms up prior to the start of an NBA basketball game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center on November 9, 2017 in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SACRAMENTO, CA – NOVEMBER 09: Ben Simmons #25 of the Philadelphia 76ers warms up prior to the start of an NBA basketball game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center on November 9, 2017 in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Luke Swiatek

Well, he’s certainly been a whole lot better than I expected. I remember thinking to myself, “I hope Simmons fits well with Embiid,” but now I find myself thinking “It sure is good that Embiid fits with Simmons.”

Maybe that’s just semantics, but I feel as though Simmons might actually be better, which is crazy because Embiid is so good too. But Embiid actually slows our offense down with his post-ups and lack of passing at times, and when he’s in without Simmons our offense doesn’t always look pretty. But when Simmons plays without Embiid, the magic still seems to flow.

BBallBreakdown had a great video recently talking about Simmons and some of his shortcomings and shot mechanics. One thing they mentioned is his poor footwork and shot release timing. I already feel like he’s actually shot better than I expected, so if he could fix that kind of stuff, he could at least have a consistent mid-range jumper, which is encouraging.

I never really expected Simmons to score this well. I thought he would operate like a true point guard, and maybe average something like 9-7-6 or something. I definitely did not expect him to be getting close to a triple-double every night and scoring nearly 20 points per game.

As a rookie right now, Simmons is a matchup nightmare. Teams have gameplanned to stop him, and he’s effectively countered those gameplans already. I’m scared to see what he’ll look like in five years… but I’m also so excited.