Reason 3
Another point that can be made about the 76ers flicking off the sleeper pick label like a bug on your forearm is that a certain player is likely to have a huge chip on his shoulder. When ESPN rated its top five defensive players on the year, Ben Simmons was not on it. You mean to tell me that the league leader in steals was snubbed over Patrick Beverley?
I am certain Simmons is thinking the same exact thing. His response? When the season restarts, I predict he will go off on his opponents, locking them down like we have yet to see. Remember at the end of the Nets game in Brooklyn where Simmons gave a jubilant fist pump after playing stingy defense? That will be the Ben Simmons we will see in Orlando.
He has something to prove, and I would bet on his pride as a player to lift the Sixers to an elite defensive level that will see him smother opponents relentlessly. Did we also forget that his back is healed? Watch out Orlando.