Sixers: 5 storylines to watch vs. Hawks in second round

Sixers-Hawks storyline to watch: Ben Simmons… well, you know

Ben Simmons found himself at the center of the Sixers discourse in round one, because of course he did. Despite an overwhelmingly positive series — 14.8 points, 10.2 rebounds, 9.2 assists, 1.2 steals, 2.2 turnovers, 64.0 percent from the field — people were caught up on shaky free-throw shooting. Not because it cost the Sixers anything of consequence, but because the Wizards wanted it to.

In the fourth and fifth games of a five-game series, Scott Brooks went to his trusty Hack-a-Ben strategy. It was mathematically unsuccessful, and after an especially rocky performance in Game 4, Simmons retuned to his customary shot-making volume from the charity stripe in Game 5.

Simmons did indeed struggle for the charity stripe in this series, but we have already seen signs of regression to the mean. He will not fall as low as he did in future rounds — that much is almost guaranteed. Beyond the free-throw line, Simmons did just about everything the Sixers asked of him. He mixed great scoring games with great passing games. He played aggressive, attack-first basketball and got his teammates involved regularly, all without committing turnovers on a regular basis. It was a really strong series from a traditionally reliable playoff performer, all while defending Bradley Beal.

The Sixers can expect another strong series from Simmons in round two, especially if he’s asked to step up for the injured Embiid. Atlanta has a better primary defender than Washington (DeAndre Hunter), but even so, Simmons will impact the game on both ends. This probably shouldn’t be a storyline, but his general oddity will always attract unwarranted attention.