Wizards' Bradley Beal Discusses Difficulty of Matchup vs. Sixers' Ben Simmons

Washington Wizards All-Star Bradley Beal is difficult to shut down. Throughout the 2020-2021 NBA season, the star guard averaged 31 points in 60 games, which marked the second-highest scoring average in the league behind Golden State Warriors MVP finalist Stephen Curry.

Even against a solid defensive team such as the Sixers, Beal has had his way on the offensive end. In the first game of the season, which took place in Philly, Beal put up 31 points in 35 minutes. During the second outing, he scored a career-high of 60 points in 38 minutes.

While his final regular-season matchup against the Sixers was a below-average scoring night of 19 points, Beal bounced back in his fourth appearance against the 76ers for Game 1 of the 2021 NBA Playoffs. 

In 41 minutes of action, Beal collected a team-high of 33 points. Although it seemed he once again had his way with the Sixers' defense on a personal level, the All-Star acknowledged he doesn't have it easy in this series.

At times, Beal found himself guarded by NBA Defensive Player of the Year candidate Ben Simmons. While Beal has the moves to battle with the Sixers All-Star, the Wizards standout discussed the difficulty of the matchup following practice on Tuesday.

“He’s six-ten, and I’m six-three," Beal explained while comparing himself to Simmons. "I think that’s pretty simple. He’s a big guy, and he plays guard. It’s not like he’s a power forward or a center guarding me. He’s very mobile, agile, and he’s strong. I think that propels him. And he wants to play defense -- he’s a willing defender. You don’t always see that, and he uses it to his advantage.”

Simmons likely won't guard Beal exclusively throughout the series as Philly still has to keep its eyes on the other All-Star, Russell Westbrook. Regardless, Beal knows that he'll likely draw Simmons when the game reaches crunch time. Judging based on Beal's confidence, he looks forward to the matchup for the rest of the series.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_ & Instagram: @JGrassoNBA.