Philadelphia 76ers: Ben Simmons will have to adjust to Jimmy Butler

Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons may end up being the player that has to adjust his game the most due to the arrival of Jimmy Butler.

The Philadelphia 76ers find themselves in a good place after they made the trade to acquire All-Star Jimmy Butler from the Minnesota Timberwolves. Butler automatically gives the Sixers a much better chance of reaching the NBA finals than before they acquired the elite veteran. However to believe that there won’t be any adjustment period for the team, would be beyond foolish.

Every player will have to make changes to their game to accommodate the arrival of the franchise’s third cornerstone. Out of all the players currently on the roster, the one player that will have to make the biggest adjustments will be Ben Simmons.

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It should be noted that Christopher Kline Co-Site Expert of The Sixer Sense briefly touched on the possible improvements that Simmons would have to make playing Butler. While Kline was confident in the two players ability to co-exist in transition, there could be problems in the half court.

The 6-foot-10 point guard’s playing style doesn’t necessarily fit well next the Butler’s ability in the half court. Both are ball dominant perimeter players that can create for others, however that’s were their similarities end. Butler can shoot off the dribble or spot up basically anywhere on the court, whereas Simmons works almost exclusively around the basket.

Butler has the ability to work off the ball, such as spotting up from mid-range and 3-point land or cutting towards the rim. Simmons on the other hand doesn’t spot up at all and has shown little inclination to cut to the rim when he is off the ball. While surely once the two start playing together the veteran may start spotting up more, however it’s unlikely that he won’t create with the ball in his hands at all.

This is were Simmons must improve and must become more willing to take jump shots. At this point he’s been unwilling to do so. With Butler on the court, Simmons usage rate will go down; it happened to Andrew Wiggins in Minnesota. The year before Butler joined the Timberwolves, Wiggins had a usage rate of 29.0 percent, then last season his usage percentage was at 23.4 percent and has been lower than that this season thus far.

Wiggins also saw a dip in scoring from the season before Butler came to the Wolves versus the season plus Butler was in Minny. Considering that Simmons, like Wiggins, needs the ball in his hands a lot to be effective on offense, taking the ball out his hands will greatly minimalize his effect on offense. Granted Simmons is a completely different type of offensive player than Wiggins, both still need the ball in their hands to maximize their effectiveness.

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Simmons points per game is bound to go down with Butler’s arrival, but if Simmons shows an inclination to start taking jump shots, it will benefit the Sixers on offense. Playing Markelle Fultz and Simmons together thus far this season has caused spacing issues and if Simmons doesn’t start taking jump shots soon, it will make it even harder for him, Butler and Joel Embiid to share the floor at the same time.

In the event that if head coach Brett Brown moves Fultz to the bench and surrounds the trio with two shooters like J.J. Redick and Landry Shamet, there will always be a help defender ready to double team if Simmons continues to refuse to take jump shots. Even if Simmons doesn’t make an extremely high percentage of his shots from outside of the paint, the fact that he is attempting them should keep opposing defenses honest.

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If the trio of Butler, Simmons and Embiid are to bring the Philadelphia 76ers a NBA Championship, then the point guard will have to go outside his comfort zone and start taking jump shots. He doesn’t necessarily have to start taking a ton of 3-pointers, but he should be spotting up from the mid-range at the very least. Simmons is the key piece that will make or break the Sixers championship aspirations now that the franchise has added a star like Butler.