Joel Embiid, Doc Rivers Talk Ben Simmons' Value After Sixers Loss to Blazers
Leading up to Thursday night's game against the Portland Trail Blazers, Philadelphia 76ers starting guard Ben Simmons suddenly went from probable to out as he dealt with calf tightness from the previous night.
Thursday's game marked the third time Simmons was absent this season. In the previous two matchups he missed against the Denver Nuggets and the Atlanta Hawks, the Sixers suffered double-digit losses back to back.
Against the Blazers, the situation was no different. Although Philly did have Joel Embiid on the floor playing dominant, nobody around the three-time All-Star could step up and give him help. Not even the All-Star hopeful, Tobias Harris.
While Thursday's struggles certainly can't be blamed solely on the absence of Simmons as several factors went into the Sixers' lousy second-half performance, the veteran guard's head coach and star teammate made it clear just how valuable Simmons is on the court since his presence could've helped on Thursday.
“I thought we missed Ben’s presence all over the floor,” Sixers head coach Doc Rivers said on Thursday night. “That’s the point I try to make to you guys when you talk about Ben not making threes. I keep trying to tell everyone, Ben’s value is so much more than what you guys are talking about.”
Since arriving in Philly a few months ago, Rivers has made it clear that the overblown topic of Simmons' jump shot is one of the last things on his mind. Instead, Rivers wants Simmons to continue playing his game, making plays for other players and putting on outstanding defensive performances.
“How many times do we get the ball off a rebound and push it up, getting into the paint, leading to three?" Rivers continued. "We couldn’t get to the paint tonight, offensively. That’s what Ben does. Ben’s ability leads us to take threes. He doesn’t necessarily take them -- he creates them. I think he leads the league in that category, as a matter of fact.”
Against the Blazers, the Sixers hardly got any open looks from beyond-the-arc. Through the first half, they went 0-for-10 from three. It wasn't until the 13th attempt in the second half when the Sixers finally drained a deep shot.
By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the Sixers were shooting just 12-percent from three. They ended the night shooting 25-percent from deep, which was a small jump thanks to garbage time shots made by the bench unit.
Simmons' playmaking skills on offense wasn't the only thing the 76ers missed on Thursday. They also lacked defense and intensity. As one of the best defensive players in the NBA, Simmons tends to suffocate the opposition on a nightly basis. Without him on the floor, though, Sixers center Joel Embiid saw his team struggling a lot.
“[His absence] was very obvious,” Embiid said after the game. “You look at the way Portland played; they were hunting our mismatches, especially different guys guarding (Carmelo Anthony) or creating actions out of it.
"That made us react a few times, and they got a bunch of threes out of that. That’s where you miss him a lot because when he’s on the floor defensively, especially with the guard play that Portland had tonight, it's hard for teams to just look for mismatches because you're not gonna find any when he's playing.”
The good news is Doc Rivers doesn't seem to believe Simmons' setback is anything that should keep him out long-term. With that being said, there's also no guarantee Simmons is back on the floor for Saturday's game against the Brooklyn Nets. While the issue seems minor, it could nag the veteran guard and force him to become a game-time decision this weekend.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_
