Ben Simmons Is Showing Flashes of His Old Self. That’s Good and Bad. [Michael Pina, The Ringer]
November 11, 2023
Ben Simmons Is Showing Flashes of His Old Self. That’s Good and Bad. [Michael Pina, The Ringer]
4 comments
I found this to be a nicely-balanced article with lots of example vids. So far I’ve been sitting on the fence with a ‘let’s be patient for now’ position, which often has me defending Simmons. But it’s also important to acknowledge his faults.
That said, I do think the article isn’t as open-minded as it could be. For a surgery with typically an 18mo recovery period, Ben is already way ahead of where he otherwise should be, which would be finishing up rehab right about now. The author critiques him for shying away from contact, playing ‘scared,’ but this is a pretty normal sort of behavior for athletes coming back from major injuries / surgeries. I.e., they need to push the envelope slowly and not do something which might aggravate their bodies, which is almost certainly what their coaches would echo. Which is why I think it’s so important to be patient with Simmons. At least for awhile.
OTOH, if by the end of the season: 1) he isn’t more aggressive going to the rack, or 2) has more injuries crop up, then it’s going to be really hard finding any strong reason to include him in future plans. So far I’ve liked his attitude, but he’s going to be 28 next summer, and has limited time to get his body and game back in to shape.
Best thing I’ve seen Simmons do so far was a play in the Hornets game.
LaMelo was about to take a three, and even BEFORE he lets it fly, Ben yells at Dinwiddie to run down the court. He catches the rebound off the LaMelo miss (as if he knew he was gonna miss it), throws the Hail Mary to Din, and converts a bucket within 3 seconds.
That was Rondo levels of genius BBIQ. Which is why it’s frustrating when he purposely avoids scoring the ball. He knows better. Too smart not to. He just chooses not to do it cuz he doesn’t wanna miss.
So far, he’s averaging 6.5 points, and only a handful of players have a higher at-rim shot frequency—all centers, per Cleaning the Glass. Brooklyn’s half-court offense has been a whopping 14.1 points per 100 plays better when Simmons is not on the floor (and below league average when he’s in the game).
We need to give Ben more time but if he doesn’t start attacking the basket and doing more in the half court then I’d rather give his minutes to guys like Lonnie DSJ or Watford. It really is amazing how passive he can be and it’s not like we don’t have options.
4 comments
I found this to be a nicely-balanced article with lots of example vids. So far I’ve been sitting on the fence with a ‘let’s be patient for now’ position, which often has me defending Simmons. But it’s also important to acknowledge his faults.
That said, I do think the article isn’t as open-minded as it could be. For a surgery with typically an 18mo recovery period, Ben is already way ahead of where he otherwise should be, which would be finishing up rehab right about now. The author critiques him for shying away from contact, playing ‘scared,’ but this is a pretty normal sort of behavior for athletes coming back from major injuries / surgeries. I.e., they need to push the envelope slowly and not do something which might aggravate their bodies, which is almost certainly what their coaches would echo. Which is why I think it’s so important to be patient with Simmons. At least for awhile.
OTOH, if by the end of the season: 1) he isn’t more aggressive going to the rack, or 2) has more injuries crop up, then it’s going to be really hard finding any strong reason to include him in future plans. So far I’ve liked his attitude, but he’s going to be 28 next summer, and has limited time to get his body and game back in to shape.
Best thing I’ve seen Simmons do so far was a play in the Hornets game.
LaMelo was about to take a three, and even BEFORE he lets it fly, Ben yells at Dinwiddie to run down the court. He catches the rebound off the LaMelo miss (as if he knew he was gonna miss it), throws the Hail Mary to Din, and converts a bucket within 3 seconds.
That was Rondo levels of genius BBIQ. Which is why it’s frustrating when he purposely avoids scoring the ball. He knows better. Too smart not to. He just chooses not to do it cuz he doesn’t wanna miss.
So far, he’s averaging 6.5 points, and only a handful of players have a higher at-rim shot frequency—all centers, per Cleaning the Glass. Brooklyn’s half-court offense has been a whopping 14.1 points per 100 plays better when Simmons is not on the floor (and below league average when he’s in the game).
We need to give Ben more time but if he doesn’t start attacking the basket and doing more in the half court then I’d rather give his minutes to guys like Lonnie DSJ or Watford. It really is amazing how passive he can be and it’s not like we don’t have options.