Ben Simmons

[ItsThatEasy]

yeah basically.. You can just see he is toying with college Kids.
He is just this much Bigger,stronger,faster,better than everybody else.

I always get the feeling with Ben if he REALLY wanted it and had the mindset to do so he could easily average 35ppg so far.

He is not a "me first" type of scorer though and wants his TEAM to win. But you can just see how easy it is right now for him. ATM its totally up to his agressivness if he scores 15 or 40. College defenses can do not much against him.

I think he's also pretty disappointed in his teammates and coaching staff. I'm sure he didn't expect LSU to win a National title but he looks very surprised by how incompetent the program as a whole is operating around him. Now this could mean a few things for his NBA prospects especially if he ends up on the 76ers and doesn't take well to losing.

I think it has been great for him. He has shown he can be dominant in the best team in the country at Monverde with a stacked team. I think LSU will make the tournament which shows he can be dominant in a team that is not great and get them there when they have no chance without him.

I think it makes the transition much easier than if he was at say Oklahoma where at the moment he would have lost twice in 3 and a half years and going to a struggling team in the NBA.

You think it's an easy transition to go from having the ball in your hands literally every other play to going to the NBA and sharing the ball as a rookie? Hmmmm ok

Even if he goes to the 76ers he won't have the ball as much as he does at LSU. That's one of the selling points of Kentucky for Calipari; you get to be around other talent and understand sharing the ball is a necessity at the next level.

[splendidham]

Simmons has no one to blame but himself if he is unhappy with his situation. He could have gone anywhere and chose a bottom feeder. If he is surprised they aren't Kentucky, then he really should have done more research.

I personally doubt he is unhappy though. He's a pretty confident kid and he would believe they are still a pretty good chance to make it. Actually, I doubt he'd even change schools if he were given the opportunity to do it over. He's a bit stubborn.

Ben had a big hand in recruiting there. He had some pretty good relationships with his teammates before they joined LSU. It's part of the reason I think Ben defers sometimes. He and Blakeney are great friends. It must suck to see a guy who you are really close with (who you basically recruited yourself) struggle.

I don't think Ben's teammates are as bad as some have made out. I think they have a talented roster that lacks in some areas obviously. Could use a few more vets and maybe another enforcer type. Craig Victor has been great for them since he became eligible. He has a huge impact. Rebounds a bit and gives them good post scoring. He'll be an NBA player eventually. Hornsby has been good too since he came back. When those two have been able to stay in the game, the tigers have gone well.

Let's not forget, not all teams build chemistry at the same rate. Takes some teams years. Obviously LSU doesn't have that long though. Quarterman has also struggled in what is essentially a new role for him. Tim was their do it all guy last year. He's largely been supplanted by Ben in that role. He too is starting to work into some form. Brandon Sampson, who I think will be great has also been out injured. Hopefully Blakeney can also become that knock down shooter they need.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[anubis0713]

I think he's also pretty disappointed in his teammates and coaching staff. I'm sure he didn't expect LSU to win a National title but he looks very surprised by how incompetent the program as a whole is operating around him. Now this could mean a few things for his NBA prospects especially if he ends up on the 76ers and doesn't take well to losing.

I think it has been great for him. He has shown he can be dominant in the best team in the country at Monverde with a stacked team. I think LSU will make the tournament which shows he can be dominant in a team that is not great and get them there when they have no chance without him.

I think it makes the transition much easier than if he was at say Oklahoma where at the moment he would have lost twice in 3 and a half years and going to a struggling team in the NBA.

You think it's an easy transition to go from having the ball in your hands literally every other play to going to the NBA and sharing the ball as a rookie? Hmmmm ok

Even if he goes to the 76ers he won't have the ball as much as he does at LSU. That's one of the selling points of Kentucky for Calipari; you get to be around other talent and understand sharing the ball is a necessity at the next level.

His usage rate is only 26% if you compare that to Durant in college which was 41% I think he will have no issue. If you consider the fact that everyone says he is a past first player I don't see the issue.

Also the one coach in the NBA who is going to understand Bens mindset is Brett Brown.
Nobody in the NBA comes close to understanding how Australian basketball works as he does.

[anubis0713]

16/18/3 while playing with the flu, not a bad game at all.

[crazy_me_87]

16/18/3 while playing with the flu, not a bad game at all.

If 16/18/3 is your flu game you are pretty good^^

[First pick]

This guy is getting lebron level hate. He air balled a free throw today and twitter lit up like a Christmas tree. I guess that comes with the territory.

[HotelVitale]

His usage rate is only 26% if you compare that to Durant in college which was 41% I think he will have no issue. If you consider the fact that everyone says he is a past first player I don't see the issue.

I agree it's not a huge issue, but usage % is misleading for Simmons vs. Durant for this issue. Simmons has the ball a lot, but spends a lot of possessions dribbling around some and then passing; those often don't lead to much and don't count for usage % but they're scoring/assist chance that he uses. Durant had no problem getting a good shot off in those same chances, so his extra usage was likely a sign of his superior creation abilities (largely because of how dangerous his shot is/was).

[donato]

For the haters who have trouble seeing how good he is on the court. He's having one of if not the best freshman seasons ever:

http://www.nola.com/lsu/index.ssf/2016/01/ben_simmons_freshman_season_ra.html

[scrabbarista]

For the haters who have trouble seeing how good he is on the court. He's having one of if not the best freshman seasons ever:

http://www.nola.com/lsu/index.ssf/2016/01/ben_simmons_freshman_season_ra.html

So he's averaging more assists than Allen Iverson and more rebounds than Shaquille O'Neal. You can't hate on this guy without looking stupid, seriously.

He just has that Magic/Bird quality where you feel like he's thinking/seeing the game at a level above everyone else involved in the game. He's been appointment viewing for me this season, and of the eight games I've seen he's been less than spectacular in only one of them. (Florida, I think... it was a recent one...)

I don't know what he's going to do in the league, but I know one thing: it's going to be special.

[Brapman]

..... yeah yeah yeah, whatever. Being special totally depends on him being able to shoot the BB. Nobody has any evidence that he will get over that hump. Nor does anyone have enough evidence that he won't.

But one thing is most likely certain: He stinks at shooting at this point in time.

[DubCeeSwag]

I really hate, HATE that Simmons refuses to shoot. In the NBA, they're gonna be able to limit his effectiveness if he refuses to shoot. I'd have Simmons clearly #1 if he was a bad shooter (say 25% from 3). Bad shooters > Non-shooters.

[HotelVitale]

For the haters who have trouble seeing how good he is on the court. He's having one of if not the best freshman seasons ever: http://www.nola.com/lsu/index.ssf/2016/01/ben_simmons_freshman_season_ra.html

I'm not at all a hater (crossing fingers the Sixers get him), but an article written by a LSU supporter for a paper in LSU country isn't exactly a reassuring source of hype. Just taking the best stats and the best moments and giving the most optimistic view of what could happen. (In the comment section, the writer says Simmons' shooting is a non-issue because Lebron was also a weak shooter. Not dealing with a basketball titan here, just some regular dude from a sports bar.)

[donato]

For the haters who have trouble seeing how good he is on the court. He's having one of if not the best freshman seasons ever: http://www.nola.com/lsu/index.ssf/2016/01/ben_simmons_freshman_season_ra.html

I'm not at all a hater (crossing fingers the Sixers get him), but an article written by a LSU supporter for a paper in LSU country isn't exactly a reassuring source of hype. Just taking the best stats and the best moments and giving the most optimistic view of what could happen. (In the comment section, the writer says Simmons' shooting is a non-issue because Lebron was also a weak shooter. Not dealing with a basketball titan here, just some regular dude from a sports bar.)

He uses the most basic straight-forward statistics like ppg, rebounds, assists, fg%...I'm not really sure how the fact it's a New Orleans paper has anything to do with it. The numbers are the numbers.

[nurseryc]

..... yeah yeah yeah, whatever. Being special totally depends on him being able to shoot the BB. Nobody has any evidence that he will get over that hump. Nor does anyone have enough evidence that he won't.

But one thing is most likely certain: He stinks at shooting at this point in time.

He can score at will taking it to the hoop. He has an awesome shooters touch inside the key. He hasn't had to take the outside shots as yet and why would he when he is unguardable when taking it to the rack?

[Dcebucks11]

I really hate, HATE that Simmons refuses to shoot. In the NBA, they're gonna be able to limit his effectiveness if he refuses to shoot. I'd have Simmons clearly #1 if he was a bad shooter (say 25% from 3). Bad shooters > Non-shooters.

Well he should not shoot, he's not a shooter and he's destroying guys with his speed and size so why would he shoot.

Ben Simmons has many flaws in his jumper tho, that's for sure.. It looks like he's aiming his jumper while in the air.. He just needs to let it fly, less knee bend, less turning so much in the air.. It needs a makeover.. The arc is off, aim is off..

[anubis0713]

Good to see Ben has figured out his main problem shooting 3's.

https://mobile.twitter.com/BenSimmons25/status/689260879641051137/video/1

[Dcebucks11]

I'm taking back my Lebron comparisons

Lamar Odom comparisons are looking more and more accurate.. He's a guy who thrives on rebounds and putbacks and iso drives.. Reminds me of Odom a lot..

[nurseryc]

LSU needs to start running plays for Ben to utilise his offensive talents. There is to much everyone for themselves mentality. They aren't using their biggest inside offensive weapon.

[ppedro123]

How's Ben's defense? Is it bad or good?

If bad, does he has great potential on that side of the court? Is it "dont know what im doing" bad or just lack of effort bad?

Havent really watched much of him yet, have no idea about his defense and how is his approach to this part of the game.

[Dcebucks11]

How's Ben's defense? Is it bad or good?

If bad, does he has great potential on that side of the court? Is it "dont know what im doing" bad or just lack of effort bad?

Havent really watched much of him yet, have no idea about his defense and how is his approach to this part of the game.

It's not extremely bad but he does get lost quite a bit and he does take a lot of plays off on defense.. He's probably better off defending 3s, he's shorter arms and lean body so he might struggle defending the post against NBA 4s..

His feel for the game is extremely high and so is his athleticism and speed for a guy his size... The problem lies within his jumper, he's got the tools but the jumper might prevent him from maximizing those tools.

I think he ends up as a better version of Lamar Odom but not quite Lebron unless he gets at least a below average jumper..