Ben Simmons is Criminally Underrated
I feel like a broken record, but it’s time Ben Simmons gets some respect.
Simmons came in 11th in the fan portion of All-Star voting. Ben Simmons is not the 11th best guard in the Eastern Conference.
I guess a player is only good if NBA Twitter says he’s good, but the fact that casual basketball fans were disgusted by Ben Simmons making the All-Star team is a shame.
Besides shooting, what does Ben Simmons not do well?
Simmons will never be a threat from beyond the arc. It’s well past the time for us to want him to become that. Instead of focusing on the three-point shot, we need to appreciate all of the other things he does at a high level.
Photo: Sports Illustrated
Coming into the Pacers game, Simmons sits at 9th in the league in assists per game, 11th in steals per game, 26th in rebounds per game, 6th in total steals, and 7th in fastbreak points per game. While he doesn’t lead the league in any of those categories, he still impacts the game at a high level. Simmons will never dominate the scoring totals, but every time he takes the court, he can dominate many other aspects of the game that often get overlooked.
Another area to look at when it comes to Ben Simmons’ status as an elite player in the league is his overall improvement under Doc Rivers. It may not show in the box scores, but he is playing with different energy this season. There was no structure for the Sixers offense under Brett Brown. No one seemed to know their roles, and it was a mess.
Doc Rivers handed Ben Simmons the keys to an actual offense, and it has paid off. While he got off to a rough start, Simmons has taken command as of late and is a different player. In 10 February games, he averaged 21 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 7.8 assists. Learning his role in Rivers’ system has allowed him to be more aggressive and has opened up another dimension of the offense.
The spotlight in Philadelphia will always be on Joel Embiid, but that shouldn’t diminish the value that Ben Simmons provides the Sixers. Casual basketball fans will sit back and tell you Simmons isn’t an elite player, but they only see the surface.
When you go in and peel back the layers to Simmons’ game, you’ll find a player that dominates the game in various aspects.
Simply put, you’ll find a criminally underrated player.
Featured Image: Sports Illustrated
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Categorized:Sixers