Sixers: How will Doc Rivers use Ben Simmons offensively?
How will Doc Rivers use Ben Simmons offensively: Point guard
As a point guard, Simmons is an elite playmaker, who impacts every area of the game. He gets to the basket at will. He also rebounds and defends at an elite level for any position. The down part of his game as previously stated is that he’s unwilling to take outside shots.
If you watched the Boston Celtics in the mid-2000s or watched this past NBA Finals, then you probably know which of Rivers’ former point guards that Simmons is most like. Yes, it’s Rajon Rondo, and if you don’t factor in the fact that Rondo is only 6-foot-1, he and Simmons play the game very similarly.
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Both see the game in slow motion, love to run in transition, and don’t like to shoot outside shots. Despite that, Rivers was able to use Rondo effectively in the half-court and can do the same for Simmons. Granted it was a different era of basketball at that point, but most of those things that Rivers did would still work in today’s game.
When Rondo had the ball in his hands, Rivers would run a pick and roll at the top of the elbow. Rondo would lunch mid-range shots, drive, or pass the ball to Kevin Garnett for a mid-range jumper.
Off the ball, Rivers had Rondo run baseline and attack the offensive glass. If Rivers can get Simmons to be a willing mid-range shooter, then this role could work out well for Simmons and Sixers because he’s always constantly moving.