Ben Simmons at Center Could Be a Game Changer for Sixers
With Joel Embiid out of the Sixers’ second pre-season game, Doc Rivers trialed lineups with Ben Simmons at the 5, conjuring memories of the longest winning streak in Philadelphia sports history.
Towards the end of the 2018 season, the Sixers had won 9 straight games, taking advantage of an easier second half schedule and beating up on opponents on a nightly basis.
With 7 games to go in the season, Joel Embiid was sidelined with an orbital bone fracture; many thought this would end the Sixers’ winning run.
Photo: AP
Without Embiid, Philadelphia had Amir Johnson and Richaun Holmes as their only available centers.
It was out of necessity that Brett Brown moved Simmons to center in certain lineups, and it paid dividends.
Still only a rookie, Simmons took over as the team’s star averaging 16 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists.
The Sixers won 7 straight games to finish the season, including a 132-130 win over, the eventual, Eastern Conference Champion Cavaliers. Simmons went head to head with LeBron James and finished the game with 27 points, 15 rebounds, 13 assists, and 4 steals.
The Philadelphia front office has been looking for big men that can fill the void when Embiid sits, first with Al Horford and now Dwight Howard, but they may have had the answer right in front of them all along.
At 6’10”, Simmons has the height to at least challenge opposing big men on the defensive end, but on offense, there isn’t a center in the league that can match up with him. Simmons’ speed and ball-handling create mismatches for opposing teams, especially considering his ability to create in transition.
Having a center that can rebound and run leads to opponents having to go smaller to match up, negating any advantages they may have had in the paint.
Simmons at the center also negates the need for him to shoot from a distance, surrounding him with shooters to space the floor and letting him run in transition and get into the paint could make the Sixers almost impossible to slow down.
Featured Image: Erik Williams/USA Today Sports
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Categorized:Sixers