Philadelphia 76ers All-Star Ben Simmons continues to be one of the more unique stars in the game. He continues to make an impact on the floor despite not having huge scoring numbers and Sunday was another example of that.
Simmons only had six points, but he had a career playoff high 15 assists and he also had 15 rebounds to help the Sixers knock off the Washington Wizards 125-118 in Game 1 of their Round 1 series. His defense was excellent against Wizards stars Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal and he was terrific in ways that just are not seen in the box score.
“I thought he was special,” said coach Doc Rivers. “Whoever he guarded struggled scoring, he created so many points for us, off the glass to 3, off transition to 3, creating switches that they didn’t want to have. He is just a treasure. He is something that you don’t see a lot in this league and he has such a skill set that’s so different. There’s a lot of people that can’t make what of him. All I see is his greatness and I just want him to keep doing what he’s doing.”
Simmons is one of the more misunderstood guys in the league due to his unwillingness to shoot a jumper–which still does hinder him in a small way–and because he does not score a ton of points. He makes so many plays out on the floor whether it’s him pushing the pace or it’s his ability to create so many open looks for his teammates.
“I just try to make winning plays and do what I can to help this team and be the point guard and run the team,” said Simmons afterward. “Put guys in the right positions, run the right sets, if somebody’s feeling it, keep giving them the ball. I think overall today we did a good job of that.”
The only real blemish for Simmons on Sunday was the fact that he did go 0-for-6 from the foul line. That is something that cannot happen out on the floor in big playoff games and he has to understand that, but other than that, he was terrific all day long.
“He did what he does,” said teammate Danny Green. “He’s gonna settle in, he’ll be fine. The biggest thing for us is getting him mentally ready and confident to step to that free-throw line and knock them down, but he got in the paint and pushed the pace. Defensively, he was active. He made it tough on Brad, Brad, does what he does, so that’s a hard assignment for any individual, but I know he’ll settle in with each game. The key for us is building momentum.”
The Sixers will be looking to keep the momentum going in Game 2 on Wednesday and look to take a 2-0 series lead before the scene shifts to Washington D.C. for Game 3.