No, we will not see Ben Simmons shooting jump shots this season for the Philadelphia 76ers – and that’s OK
We all remember getting excited when watching the viral videos of Ben Simmons playing pickup this summer with Devin Booker and hitting multiple outside shots.
However, it is easy to see that he is just simply not comfortable with doing this inside an NBA arena. If you have been to a Philadelphia 76ers game last season or even this season, then you may have noticed Simmons shoots plenty of 3’s in warm-ups.
This is something he has been working on for a while now. I do not necessarily like seeing him doing it 15 minutes before tip-off because you are supposed to be shooting shots you will be taking in the game. But nonetheless, I love seeing him working on it.
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Now, is this going to be a problem? Will it be a restriction as to how good can Ben Simmons become? Is it going to hurt the Sixers spacing on the court?
First of all, no this is not a problem that will hold Simmons back from improving as a player. Ben has proved that his dominance when running the fast break and his ability to finish at the rim will not hold him back at all scoring the ball. He is a tremendous passer who also rebounds the ball incredibly well.
He does average 16-8-8 on his career. Not bad for someone who consistently gets criticized for his lack of a jump shot in a league that teams depend on shooting to win games.
Spacing. People always talk about how important the spacing is on the floor. They are not wrong. It is not ideal to have a point guard who cannot be effective on the perimeter paired with a big man who is most dominant in the paint.
However, Joel Embiid is someone who can shoot it well enough from 3 that will force the opposing big man to come out and guard him. Thus, leaves the paint without a rim protector, which makes number 25’s job much easier.
All in all, Simmons is one of the best guards in the NBA and was an All-Star last year because of it. I will not count out him ever shooting outside shots. But, I have seen enough this season to confidently say you can rule out seeing another 3-pointer from the Philadelphia guard. The Sixers will be just fine as they will end up facing off with the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals in May of 2020.