How will the Philadelphia 76ers do without Ben Simmons in the playoffs?
By Uriah Young
What will the Sixers not miss?
People question who will provide scoring and defense while Simmons is convalescing in Disney. Judging by last night’s rotation and performance, Al Horford and Alec Burks seem to be maximizing their opportunity to fill Simmons’ void. Burks’ scoring from the perimeter has been like rain after a drought. He dropped 22 points last night and made 53 percent of his shots. Horford’s defense and rebounding have stepped up nicely the past few games. Against the Magic, he grabbed nine boards, had one block, and broke up several plays.
What about overall minutes? Who gets them? With Shake Milton already having taken the point guard spot, and Matisse Thybulle earning a rotation spot with his defensive prowling, their minutes are not connected to Simmons. Therefore, it appears that Glenn Robinson III and Furkan Korkmaz could take most of Simmons’ minutes.
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If Robinson III returns soon, he would be a nice wing defender in the playoffs, picking up where Simmons left off. His scoring abilities would be welcomed as well. Korkmaz is nowhere near the passing or defensive threat as Simmons, but given extra minutes, Korkmaz could space the floor and knockdown open 3s with Embiid passing so adroitly out of double teams lately. Speaking of spacing…
Another positive that Sixers fans can expect in the absence of Ben Simmons is how much more open the offense will be, in the paint and on the perimeter. Judging from their performance against the Magic, the passing and movement within their sets seemed more fluid. Some would argue that the Sixers did not shoot a high percentage and that Ben could have made the difference. The retort for that would stand on the effectiveness of both Embiid and Horford coexisting nicely in the offense without Ben Simmons clogging the paint or being a non-factor at the 3-point line.
In the starting lineup, running plays without Ben Simmons on the floor gives Joel Embiid four viable passing options instead of three. 76ers fans have gotten so used to Simmons’ shooting limitations, that the idea of getting frequent, wide-open 3-pointers out of any Embiid double teams seems foreign. When the game tips off in the first quarter, any team that doubles Embiid in the post will suffer the consequences of leaving Horford, Milton, Harris, and Richardson open for 3. This makes the Sixers extremely tough to defend.
Not to harp on Ben’s Simmons offensive shortcomings, but since he’s been playing in Orlando, his numbers are far from impressive. In the Wizards game, he was 2-for-10 shooting and a -3. Against the Spurs, he fouled out and was also a -3. Go back to the Pacers loss, where Simmons had as many turnovers as assists and was a -11.
His 50 percent free throw percentage has been atrocious. If the scrimmages and first few seeding games since the return were supposed to shake off any rust, it didn’t work for Simmons. He did attempt a 3-point shot in the game where he was injured, but he fell back into the habit of throwing up awkward shots in the lane that had no chance of going in the moment they left his hands.
Think about how the quality of shots taken in his absence will significantly increase with scorers like Alec Burks and Tobias Harris. Translation — more touches in the halfcourt offense from Horford, Harris, and Burks will benefit the team more than if Simmons were to have the same volume of scoring opportunities.