Adrian Fedkiw
Ben Simmons was back to being his unselfish and facilitative self after a one-game trial as an aggressor.
Simmons had eight points, eight rebounds and six assists as the Philadelphia 76ers fell to the Golden State Warriors 85-77 on Tuesday night.
It was a similar stat line as he had his first three games for Simmons, who took eight, nine and eight shots, respectively. He was 3-of-8 in this one after going 7-of-13 Sunday night against the Chicago Bulls where looked more for his shot instead of his teammates. Simmons was 7-of-25 from the field over his first three games.
Christian Wood continued his excellent summer, netting 22 points on 8-of-12 efficiency.
Let’s take a look at some of Simmons’ highlights.
We saw some more of Simmons’ beautiful no-look passing, starting with this one to a cutting Richaun Holmes down the lane for the dunk.
Another nasty no-look pass form Simmons pic.twitter.com/xEddZvtTf1
— Philly Influencer (@PHL_Influencer) July 13, 2016
And another angle.
— Philly Influencer (@PHL_Influencer) July 13, 2016
Here we see Simmons doing a great job of getting A.J. English caught in the air at midcourt before he finishes the 3-on-1 break with a sweet dish to Holmes for the slam.
Good defense by Simmons to get English caught in air at midcourt, then a sweet dish to Holmes to finish the 3-on-1 pic.twitter.com/AGVla5u0MB
— Philly Influencer (@PHL_Influencer) July 13, 2016
Check out Simmons sky from the left baseline for the putback flush.
Simmons showing some elevation on the putback dunk pic.twitter.com/sS22eikOuY
— Philly Influencer (@PHL_Influencer) July 13, 2016
Another thing we saw a lot of tonight, Simmons’ teammates not being to finish plays when he found them for good looks. It shows how important it is to surround Simmons with all the right pieces. He could’ve easily had 10 dimes.
Simmons grabs the board, gallops the other way and finds the trailing Brandon Paul along the right wing, but he’s unable to hit the open shot. It’s going to be imperative to get Simmons some shooters to work with.
Grab the board and go, Simmons hits the trailer but Paul missed the right wing 3 pic.twitter.com/bzsmUa5NxZ
— Philly Influencer (@PHL_Influencer) July 13, 2016
T.J. McConnell is one of the last players you want shooting an open triple.
Simmons with the board and go, but McConnell is no Stauskas! pic.twitter.com/LjnqBH7G7q
— Philly Influencer (@PHL_Influencer) July 13, 2016
When the real games start, we’ll be seeing Joel Embiid, Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel finishing these Simmons passes.
When the real games start we’ll be seeing Noel and Okafor finishing these Simmons passes pic.twitter.com/7OYP3mxYC1
— Philly Influencer (@PHL_Influencer) July 13, 2016
And speaking of Big Jah, he looked slim when interviewed by NBA TV at one point during the game. That’s a great sign considering you have to be in peak condition to run up and down the floor with Simmons.
Holmes posted 11 points and eight boards, while McConnell 11 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Sixers, who have yet to win in Las Vegas.