A lot has been made about Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons‘ unwillingness to develop a perimeter game. Would it help? Sure. Is it necessary? Possibly not. Here are a few reasons why:
They are doing well without it
For the last few seasons, the 76ers have been one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. Their seeding in the playoffs has climbed every year in each of the last two years. The latter of which saw them barely miss the Conference Finals, only in part to a fortuitous bounce. There is nothing that indicates Simmons’ unwillingness to add a consistent jump shot to his arsenal will deter Philadelphia from being in the thick of things come May.
Philadelphia has other options
Philadelphia is not hurting for offensive weapons. They have multiple players, including Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris, who average over 15 points per game while shooting close to 50% from the field. When they need to, they can find points in bunches. They don’t need Ben Simmons to be a offensive shooting juggernaut. It simply isn’t a necessity for their success.
It simply isn’t his game
Ben Simmons is not a shooter and never has been. That begs the question whether we want to force him to be. Simmons should play to his strengths, which are facilitating and defense. He consistently locks down the opposing team’s best player (leads league in steals) while on the other end simultaneously is in the top five in assists. These are rare qualities for a player of his size.
He is a throwback to the tradition door general. With that, Philadelphia should let him do what he does best: Stop the other team and get everyone on the floor involved.
Photo Credit- Liberty Ballers
