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After months of anticipation following LSU’s exclusion from the March Madness tournament, Ben Simmons finally made his debut.
He faced stiff competition for the first time in months. Ben reported that he hadn’t played an organised game of basketball since his final game for LSU (12th March) in the SEC tourney.
» Make sure you don’t miss a minute of Simmons’ debut season with our Ben Simmons NBA fixtures page
» Catch all of the NBA action this season with our Australian NBA TV and live streaming guide
Starting at the four, Ben shared the ball handling duties with 76ers point guard T.J McConnell.
Boston’s super small starting line-up (no player over 6’8) allowed Simmons to showcase his true passing vision and aptitude.
Similar to his LSU debut, Simmons preferred to ease himself into the game, frequently passing and getting his team involved – a staple of his game.
He finished the first half amassing only three shots. However he looked to be extremely aggressive driving the ball, going to the foul line six times converting all six attempts.
As the game developed, Ben began to show his class. His underrated work ethic defensively was masked with eight rebounds.
His jump shot looked impressive. Ironically, his first NBA bucket came off a face-up jump shot from 18 feet. The fluidity and comfort was evident. He finished with ten points off nine shots.
As expected it was his passing that brought awe to the crowd. Bounce passes, touch passes, no-look passes – Ben had it all.
More so in the first half than the second, Ben looked like the consensus number one pick.
The second half showed Simmons’ conditioning and rust.
A blocked jump shot and two missed layups highlighted a tough third quarter. Furthermore an Achilles injury prevented him from playing more than three minutes in the third. He was effective defensively nonetheless.
His impressive lateral movement and wingspan allowed in frequently taking charges and interrupting passing lanes. On the contrary, his effort in pick and roll defence was questionable.
Late in the shot clock he would opt to switch off his player rather than fight over screens.
Other than that, Simmons looked comfortable guarding multiple positions.
Cramps sadly ended his day and will most likely be rested tomorrow. His final stat line of ten points (2-9, 6-6 from the free throw line), eight rebounds, five assists and a solitary turnover in just 24 minutes was enough to proven to the fans and media he is worthy of the number one selection.
Overall Simmons’ debut was promising. The stat line may not show it but Simmons along with Holmes and McConnell dominated the Celtics.
His comfort and flexibility to play on and off the ball surprisingly will bring delight to Brett Brown and co. A few more training sessions and repetitions will allow Simmons to dominate in Las Vegas and stamp his authority on the premier Summer League.
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