Ben Simmons 1 Of The Most Dynamic Top 20 NBA Players?
How Good Is Ben Simmons?
Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers is an extraordinarily gifted basketball player but is he one of the top 20 NBA players? I don't think so. He has amazing physical gifts in that is 6 feet 1o inches tall and about 250 lbs. He has incredible downhill speed with good quickness and he is extremely strong and powerful. He also is a good jumper with a vertical jump of about. Simmons is an extremely gifted passer and with his 6′ 10″ he can see over the top of most every defender in the NBA. And with all of that he also has great court vision. So with all of that going for him how do you mot consider him a top 20 NBA performer?
Where Does Ben Rank Among The NBA's Greats?
Ben Simmons is not in my top 20 because of a few things. First and foremost because of his much written and talked about lack of shooting. I don't mean as many people talk about (including apparently in a 1/25/2021 Pistons Post Game press conference with his new Coach Doc Rivers) his lack of taking 3point shots. It for me it's his lack of shooting any type of jump shot. He could help himself and his teammates extensively if he would attempt any type of mid-range shot also like even 10 to 18 foot jump shots. Of course if he could shoot even a tiny amount of 3 pointers it would be even more beneficial!!! Just the threat of Big Ben (sorry Mr. Rothlesburger but he is big) taking a shot would help open things up on the floor for himself and his teammates. Of course the one who might benefit the most is his MVP caliber and top NBA teammate Joel Embiid.
Why Won't Ben Shoot The Damn Ball
The first time that I had heard of Ben Simmons was early in his Freshman and only season at LSU. My buddy Ralph D asked me if I had seen this incredible new phenom playing for LSU Ben Simmons. I had not but I was on my home and they were playing on ESPN in a few minutes so I as soon as I got home I turned on his game with incredible anticipation. I was extremely impressed by his size, length and seeming court awareness. I started watching in the second half and Ben was playing well for all intents and purposes but something became strikingly apparent to me in that Ben had not taken a shot yet but maybe he was just being unselfish at that point in the game and was just getting his teammates involved at the time. I kept watching and Ben still had not taken a shot…..hmmm. LSU was in a tight battle and it seemed they needed him to take over and to top it off the announcer stated that Simmons had only taken 2 shots…..whatttttt???? It got to about the 4 minutes left point and no shot…. One time Ben drove to about 2 inches from the rim and could have slammed down a thunderous rim wrecking dunk but to my astonishment while he was right at the rim he fires a pass to a teammate in the right corner for a covered 3 pointer and the player missed the shot. The game went ended and Ben did take a couple of more shots but the most dominant player in college basketball had taken 6 shots In 40 minutes!!! To almost top it off he had made only 1??? 1 for 6? He did show his versatility and grabbed 14 rebounds and had 10 assists and 3 steals.
I don't know exactly why Ben doesn't ever shoot more than layups. The only person that knows that of course Ben Simmons. For me I believe that he had been great his whole life without shooting from outside and that it would continue in the NBA. NBA teams as we all know quickly adjust to your strengths and weaknesses.
Simmons has had time (4 years) to readjust. It has been reported and shown on video clips that he is working on his jump shot. Again it does not need to be three-pointers. Some people people have gotten information that Ben is not truly working that hard on his shot as he needs to to truly make a difference in an NBA game. Who knows…… I do know that his legendary predecessors like the GOAT Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and LeBron have all come into the league with less than great jump shots. Now all of them had better shots and were more willing shooters when needed than Simmons but all 3 needed drastic improvement on their shots AND THEY ALL DID IT and improved greatly. They all had an insatiable burning desire not just to be great but all Desired to go down as the greatest of al-time. To do this they needed to work on many things including shooting. They wanted this not just to perform the best but to help their team pile up Championships and they knew to do this they needed to shoot better and when needed to be more willing outside shooters.
To be Continued tomorrow…..