Better player next season: Simmons or Doncic?

[moistnessfiscal]

It doesn’t need to be “off the dribble”. If nobody is guarding him (which they didn’t last year) he can pull up and take as much time as he wants.

Tobias Harris is a 3-level scorer (and efficient one at that), but he’s worse than Simmons. There’s a lot more to basketball than scoring.

Also did i not praise simmons on other aspects of his game, ofc it’s not all about scoring but dude read and understand what i actually post and stop riding Simmon’s phallus.

Lol are you serious? No you did not just “praise” Simmons in the post I responded to (maybe else where?). You called him one dimensional and argued for Luka on the basis of his scoring skill set, conveniently dismissing other skills. You even referenced Luka’s efficiency despite Ben clearly having the upper hand in that regard.

As to your playoff point, what has he proven? Sure he's a terrific transition player, a generational passer, a good defender, and can score in the post and paint efficiently, but he's merely a third-option in the half-court right now

^This

Also i corrected myself in the subsequent post when referring to EFFICIENCY but you have once again chose to ignore that. Read!

Luka’s deficiencies on defence aren’t as like Trae Young’s or Steph Curry, he’s not a complete sieve and you can hide him on the worst offensive player. This is a great trade-off for what he provides offensively, although he’s not the passer Simmons is, he is the far superior offensive player.

I don’t agree with this but I’ll put it out there, the defensive metrics of 2.8 DWS and 1.2 DBPM indicate he’s an above average defensive player.

[TheNG]

Actually I'm surprised this thread is still alive... By the end of next season this comparison will seem like a joke.

A joke in which direction? They're both consisdered to be very good young players

One of them has more passion to basketball and the mentality of a real champion hence will probably be better every year in the next five years, the other one has the mentality of a celebrity and will be about the same as he's now without any substantial progress... I'll let the readers decide who is who.

[johanliebert]

This thread is more of a popularity contest rather than a fair comparison.

[moistnessfiscal]

You were the one who brought up catch-and-shoot/shooting off the dribble, both of which are higher difficulty than what we need from Ben.

Tobias can create for himself (which is an element of playmaking), but no he’s not a facilitator like Ben or Luka. My point was that you were analyzing through a lens that was unnecessarily narrow. Ben does a lot of things better than Luka and it doesn’t make sense just to ignore those things.

I made the catch and shoot reference to differentiate Westbrook for Simmons, still stunned you would compare the two, I would argue a catch and shoot open look is on par with a regular open look with the benefit of rhythm.

I don’t ignore the things Ben does better than Luka but put it this way, if Ben has Luka’s offensive game, he would’ve already been MVP. Also if Luka was in the East last year, it’s likely he would’ve been on the all-star team, with a substantially worse supporting cast when wins matter. I’ve praised Ben in previous posts but you choose to ignore them...

I’m sorry but I passionately disagree with both bolded claims (more so the 1st). You are severely overrating Luka’s offensive game, not to mentioned underrating Ben’s. Doncic was worse than every Eastern All Star (minus DWade who wasn’t voted in because of ability).

I’m not a Luka hater. He’s on his way to being a HoF player, as is Ben. But your assessment based on his rookie season is way off base.

Okay not MVP but he would’ve gotten a couple votes. Why i say he’s likely to have made the all star team? Would’ve gotten the more points from the voting system over probably Middleton and Russell.

[GeorgeMarcus]

Also did i not praise simmons on other aspects of his game, ofc it’s not all about scoring but dude read and understand what i actually post and stop riding Simmon’s phallus.

Lol are you serious? No you did not just “praise” Simmons in the post I responded to (maybe else where?). You called him one dimensional and argued for Luka on the basis of his scoring skill set, conveniently dismissing other skills. You even referenced Luka’s efficiency despite Ben clearly having the upper hand in that regard.

As to your playoff point, what has he proven? Sure he's a terrific transition player, a generational passer, a good defender, and can score in the post and paint efficiently, but he's merely a third-option in the half-court right now

^This

Also i corrected myself in the subsequent post when referring to EFFICIENCY but you have once again chose to ignore that. Read!

Luka’s deficiencies on defence aren’t as like Trae Young’s or Steph Curry, he’s not a complete sieve and you can hide him on the worst offensive player. This is a great trade-off for what he provides offensively, although he’s not the passer Simmons is, he is the far superior offensive player.

I don’t agree with this but I’ll put it out there, the defensive metrics of 2.8 DWS and 1.2 DBPM indicate he’s an above average defensive player.

Yes I saw you corrected yourself but apparently that didn’t influence your assessment on their scoring abilities. Teams know what Ben’s limitations are, and he still dropped an efficient 17ppg on them. Like I said, that volume would increase if these guys were to switch places.

I haven’t criticized Luka’s game in this thread, but I will say that DWS and DBPM are not respected metrics for defensive assessment. DRPM isn’t perfect but it’s a lot better, and puts Luka at -1.07.

[moistnessfiscal]

You were the one who brought up catch-and-shoot/shooting off the dribble, both of which are higher difficulty than what we need from Ben.

Tobias can create for himself (which is an element of playmaking), but no he’s not a facilitator like Ben or Luka. My point was that you were analyzing through a lens that was unnecessarily narrow. Ben does a lot of things better than Luka and it doesn’t make sense just to ignore those things.

I made the catch and shoot reference to differentiate Westbrook for Simmons, still stunned you would compare the two, I would argue a catch and shoot open look is on par with a regular open look with the benefit of rhythm.

I don’t ignore the things Ben does better than Luka but put it this way, if Ben has Luka’s offensive game, he would’ve already been MVP. Also if Luka was in the East last year, it’s likely he would’ve been on the all-star team, with a substantially worse supporting cast when wins matter. I’ve praised Ben in previous posts but you choose to ignore them...

I’m sorry but I passionately disagree with both bolded claims (more so the 1st). You are severely overrating Luka’s offensive game, not to mentioned underrating Ben’s. Doncic was worse than every Eastern All Star (minus DWade who wasn’t voted in because of ability).

I’m not a Luka hater. He’s on his way to being a HoF player, as is Ben. But your assessment based on his rookie season is way off base.

Also, I am not severely overrating Luka’s skill set, nor am I underrating Ben’s, I simply look at a playoff situation and see the clear deficiencies in a Simmons led offence, Luka isn’t perfect either, he’s not even better than Beal or Walker but he can emulate 90% of what they offer and that’s enough. Also if you’re making the assumption that Ben will make progress next year, Doncic wasn’t even in great shape in his rookie season, he has a much easier path to improvement than Ben does.

[GeorgeMarcus]

I made the catch and shoot reference to differentiate Westbrook for Simmons, still stunned you would compare the two, I would argue a catch and shoot open look is on par with a regular open look with the benefit of rhythm.

I don’t ignore the things Ben does better than Luka but put it this way, if Ben has Luka’s offensive game, he would’ve already been MVP. Also if Luka was in the East last year, it’s likely he would’ve been on the all-star team, with a substantially worse supporting cast when wins matter. I’ve praised Ben in previous posts but you choose to ignore them...

I’m sorry but I passionately disagree with both bolded claims (more so the 1st). You are severely overrating Luka’s offensive game, not to mentioned underrating Ben’s. Doncic was worse than every Eastern All Star (minus DWade who wasn’t voted in because of ability).

I’m not a Luka hater. He’s on his way to being a HoF player, as is Ben. But your assessment based on his rookie season is way off base.

Also, I am not severely overrating Luka’s skill set, nor am I underrating Ben’s, I simply look at a playoff situation and see the clear deficiencies in a Simmons led offence, Luka isn’t perfect either, he’s not even better than Beal or Walker but he can emulate 90% of what they offer and that’s enough. Also if you’re making the assumption that Ben will make progress next year, Doncic wasn’t even in great shape in his rookie season, he has a much easier path to improvement than Ben does.

What playoff deficiencies? A Simmons-led offense took the NBA Champs to a game 7 buzzer beater. Steve Nash never averaged 20ppg and won 2 MVPs.

[moistnessfiscal]

I’m sorry but I passionately disagree with both bolded claims (more so the 1st). You are severely overrating Luka’s offensive game, not to mentioned underrating Ben’s. Doncic was worse than every Eastern All Star (minus DWade who wasn’t voted in because of ability).

I’m not a Luka hater. He’s on his way to being a HoF player, as is Ben. But your assessment based on his rookie season is way off base.

Also, I am not severely overrating Luka’s skill set, nor am I underrating Ben’s, I simply look at a playoff situation and see the clear deficiencies in a Simmons led offence, Luka isn’t perfect either, he’s not even better than Beal or Walker but he can emulate 90% of what they offer and that’s enough. Also if you’re making the assumption that Ben will make progress next year, Doncic wasn’t even in great shape in his rookie season, he has a much easier path to improvement than Ben does.

What playoff deficiencies? A Simmons-led offense took the NBA Champs to a game 7 buzzer beater. Steve Nash never averaged 20ppg and won 2 MVPs.

Simmons led? Simmons was the third option... Look back to last year’s Boston series, Ben was a clog in their offence, a Ben Simmons led offence just has too many limitations. To Steve Nash I say good for him.

[Colbinii]

I’m sorry but I passionately disagree with both bolded claims (more so the 1st). You are severely overrating Luka’s offensive game, not to mentioned underrating Ben’s. Doncic was worse than every Eastern All Star (minus DWade who wasn’t voted in because of ability).

I’m not a Luka hater. He’s on his way to being a HoF player, as is Ben. But your assessment based on his rookie season is way off base.

Also, I am not severely overrating Luka’s skill set, nor am I underrating Ben’s, I simply look at a playoff situation and see the clear deficiencies in a Simmons led offence, Luka isn’t perfect either, he’s not even better than Beal or Walker but he can emulate 90% of what they offer and that’s enough. Also if you’re making the assumption that Ben will make progress next year, Doncic wasn’t even in great shape in his rookie season, he has a much easier path to improvement than Ben does.

What playoff deficiencies? A Simmons-led offense took the NBA Champs to a game 7 buzzer beater. Steve Nash never averaged 20ppg and won 2 MVPs.

Simmons led the offense yet his 14.9% Usage ranked 5th among starters in the Milwaukee series.

His 23.1% Ast % ranked second to...Jimmy Butler at 27.5%.

Simmons took care of the ball with a whopping 20.2% TOV %, unlike Jimmy who turned it over often with a staggering 9.3%.

On the bright side Simmons was efficient with his 60 shot attempts!

[Plutonashfan]

in before someone calls the results racist

I actually laughed reading this. I'm black and someone implied that I was racist because I think Rich Paul a POS agent .

[GeorgeMarcus]

Also, I am not severely overrating Luka’s skill set, nor am I underrating Ben’s, I simply look at a playoff situation and see the clear deficiencies in a Simmons led offence, Luka isn’t perfect either, he’s not even better than Beal or Walker but he can emulate 90% of what they offer and that’s enough. Also if you’re making the assumption that Ben will make progress next year, Doncic wasn’t even in great shape in his rookie season, he has a much easier path to improvement than Ben does.

What playoff deficiencies? A Simmons-led offense took the NBA Champs to a game 7 buzzer beater. Steve Nash never averaged 20ppg and won 2 MVPs.

Simmons led? Simmons was the third option... Look back to last year’s Boston series, Ben was a clog in their offence, a Ben Simmons led offence just has too many limitations. To Steve Nash I say good for him.

He had a bad series against Boston as a rookie, it happens. At least he was in the playoffs. He led the team to 17 straight wins to help them get there when Joel fractured his orbital.

Not to mention, Luka would have been 3rd/4th scoring option on the Sixers this year too.

[TheBallsDeeper]

Hard to swallow pill which people once knew subconciously but forgot lately, defence can be theoretically half of the game, but it's not half as important as offense. Any team will take a superior offensive player to a superior defensive player, it's just how the game works, since scoring is harder than defending by default.

For example, you can have guys like Kemba Walker and Kyrie Irving that are really weak defenders as Max players, because their offence is a very needed commodity. On the other hand, you have guys like Tony Allen, Robertson, Covington, Smart that will never sniff a max contract, despite being elite defenders...

Simmons was ok in the playoffs as a good defender to throw at guys, but he probably hurt the Sixers far more on the offence than he helped them on defence. Swap him with Doncic these playoffs; while you can't put him to guard Giannis, you could put him on a lesser threat and still have someone that the defence has to not only respect but gameplan against on the other side.

Imagine a lineup of Doncic/Reddick/Embiid/Harris/Butler... How the hell are you doubling Embiid? How the hell are you are loading the paint so guys can't drive? I would argue Doncic is superior playmaker to Simmons in half court offence, so that lineup would be completly unstoppable on that end.

Simmons is a very good player, but he has a fatal flaw which is unacceptable in todays NBA. And even if you believe Doncic can't improve (people have been saying that for 4 years now, and he made a mega-leap every single year), if he just gets in shape a bit more as people mentioned his stats will improve from an already insane rookie season with ease.

So unless Simmons shows up with a jumper next year, Doncic will definely be the better player.

I disagree with pretty much everything that you have written.

Offensive players get the max, that's the only bit I agree with. Why they get the max is a different story. In my opinion offensive players get more media exposure, sell more merchandise, they are more popular - basically they create more revenue, so they get paid well - but I don't think they help to win a championship more than a defensive player.

You have used Kyrie Irving and Kembla Walker as examples of why offense is higher rated - I would use those exact two players as why offense is overrated. I actually think you would struggle to find two players that are could be any more detrimental to your argument. Kyrie, Kemba, DeAnglo Russel, James Harden, Russell Westbrook are all max players, none of them play winning basketball. You switch Gobert with any one of those players and the team will be just as good.

Players like Gobert, Robert Covington are as valuable as the above offensive players - they are limited to one side of the ball, but impact the game just as much.

Two-way players - Kawhi, Durrant, Kobe, MJ, Lebon, Duncan, Shaq - They win championships.

Your say "Simmons was ok in the playoffs as a good defender to throw at guys, but he probably hurt the Sixers far more on the offence" Simmons averaged 14/7/6 in the 2019 playoffs, which is hardly an offensive liability, while also spending most of the time guarding the other teams best player. Also, you said "Swap him with Doncic these playoffs; while you can't put him to guard Giannis, you could put him on a lesser threat" - DeAngelo Russel would have knocked them out of the playoffs with JJ Reddick guarding him.

"Imagine a lineup of Doncic/Reddick/Embiid/Harris/Butler." - That backcourt would get destroyed on defense. Who does Donic and JJ guard in the Raptors series? Is Donic going to be guarding Kawhi? Or will Butler take him and Doncic guards Siakim? Maybe Doncic guards Lowrey and Reddick goes to Siakim??? There is no way that that line up makes it through to the finals. Doncics 32.7% three-point shooting is not going to suddenly make up for the lack of defense.

At this stage Doncic is a very good young player, but he has large flaws in his game - he is a below-average shooter and a below-average defender. Hopefully, he becomes a better than the average shooter, but there is nothing to suggest that he will become elite. Hopefully he becomes an average defender, because physically there is no way he becomes elite.

Simmons has a major flaw in his game, Doncic has a couple of large flaws. While both will be very good players, I think it's 50/50 as to who can overcome their floors and will be the better player.

Absolutely hilarious that you call Harden not a winner but Gobert is. Houston has consistently been one of the best teams in the west, they've had multiple playoff runs. Only limited by having to face Goldenstate 4 teams in the playoffs.

Houston just beat Utah in 5 games in 2 consecutive seasons because Utah could not even manage 100 points a game in either series.

And the Series were people criticize Simmons offense was against the Raptors, with 11/7/5, while being terrible in the half court when he had the ball and killing spacing when he didnt.

Absolutely hilarious that you either struggle with simple comprehension or have deliberately misquoted me.

I said that Gobert and Harden have the same issue - limited to one side of the ball. Gobert is as valuable defensively as Harden is offensively. Not hard to understand.....unless you are trying to make a false statement.

[GeorgeMarcus]

Also, I am not severely overrating Luka’s skill set, nor am I underrating Ben’s, I simply look at a playoff situation and see the clear deficiencies in a Simmons led offence, Luka isn’t perfect either, he’s not even better than Beal or Walker but he can emulate 90% of what they offer and that’s enough. Also if you’re making the assumption that Ben will make progress next year, Doncic wasn’t even in great shape in his rookie season, he has a much easier path to improvement than Ben does.

What playoff deficiencies? A Simmons-led offense took the NBA Champs to a game 7 buzzer beater. Steve Nash never averaged 20ppg and won 2 MVPs.

Simmons led the offense yet his 14.9% Usage ranked 5th among starters in the Milwaukee series.

His 23.1% Ast % ranked second to...Jimmy Butler at 27.5%.

Simmons took care of the ball with a whopping 20.2% TOV %, unlike Jimmy who turned it over often with a staggering 9.3%.

On the bright side Simmons was efficient with his 60 shot attempts!

I assume you mean the Raps series, where he was given primary Kawhi responsibilities. He wasn’t a negative in that series at all, the way he was against Boston last year.

[moistnessfiscal]

Lol are you serious? No you did not just “praise” Simmons in the post I responded to (maybe else where?). You called him one dimensional and argued for Luka on the basis of his scoring skill set, conveniently dismissing other skills. You even referenced Luka’s efficiency despite Ben clearly having the upper hand in that regard.

As to your playoff point, what has he proven? Sure he's a terrific transition player, a generational passer, a good defender, and can score in the post and paint efficiently, but he's merely a third-option in the half-court right now

^This

Also i corrected myself in the subsequent post when referring to EFFICIENCY but you have once again chose to ignore that. Read!

Luka’s deficiencies on defence aren’t as like Trae Young’s or Steph Curry, he’s not a complete sieve and you can hide him on the worst offensive player. This is a great trade-off for what he provides offensively, although he’s not the passer Simmons is, he is the far superior offensive player.

I don’t agree with this but I’ll put it out there, the defensive metrics of 2.8 DWS and 1.2 DBPM indicate he’s an above average defensive player.

Yes I saw you corrected yourself but apparently that didn’t influence your assessment on their scoring abilities. Teams know what Ben’s limitations are, and he still dropped an efficient 17ppg on them. Like I said, that volume would increase if these guys were to switch places.

I haven’t criticized Luka’s game in this thread, but I will say that DWS and DBPM are not respected metrics for defensive assessment. DRPM isn’t perfect but it’s a lot better, and puts Luka at -1.07.

Because I had taken them into account initially, my assessment is fair, I’ve argued both sides and stated my case clearly, there is no need for repeating myself.

[GeorgeMarcus]

As to your playoff point, what has he proven? Sure he's a terrific transition player, a generational passer, a good defender, and can score in the post and paint efficiently, but he's merely a third-option in the half-court right now

^This

Also i corrected myself in the subsequent post when referring to EFFICIENCY but you have once again chose to ignore that. Read!

Luka’s deficiencies on defence aren’t as like Trae Young’s or Steph Curry, he’s not a complete sieve and you can hide him on the worst offensive player. This is a great trade-off for what he provides offensively, although he’s not the passer Simmons is, he is the far superior offensive player.

I don’t agree with this but I’ll put it out there, the defensive metrics of 2.8 DWS and 1.2 DBPM indicate he’s an above average defensive player.

Yes I saw you corrected yourself but apparently that didn’t influence your assessment on their scoring abilities. Teams know what Ben’s limitations are, and he still dropped an efficient 17ppg on them. Like I said, that volume would increase if these guys were to switch places.

I haven’t criticized Luka’s game in this thread, but I will say that DWS and DBPM are not respected metrics for defensive assessment. DRPM isn’t perfect but it’s a lot better, and puts Luka at -1.07.

Because I had taken them into account initially, my assessment is fair, I’ve argued both sides and stated my case clearly, there is no need for repeating myself.

Which I didn’t/wouldn’t ask to you. And as have I so I guess we can leave it at that.

[nikster]

I disagree with pretty much everything that you have written.

Offensive players get the max, that's the only bit I agree with. Why they get the max is a different story. In my opinion offensive players get more media exposure, sell more merchandise, they are more popular - basically they create more revenue, so they get paid well - but I don't think they help to win a championship more than a defensive player.

You have used Kyrie Irving and Kembla Walker as examples of why offense is higher rated - I would use those exact two players as why offense is overrated. I actually think you would struggle to find two players that are could be any more detrimental to your argument. Kyrie, Kemba, DeAnglo Russel, James Harden, Russell Westbrook are all max players, none of them play winning basketball. You switch Gobert with any one of those players and the team will be just as good.

Players like Gobert, Robert Covington are as valuable as the above offensive players - they are limited to one side of the ball, but impact the game just as much.

Two-way players - Kawhi, Durrant, Kobe, MJ, Lebon, Duncan, Shaq - They win championships.

Your say "Simmons was ok in the playoffs as a good defender to throw at guys, but he probably hurt the Sixers far more on the offence" Simmons averaged 14/7/6 in the 2019 playoffs, which is hardly an offensive liability, while also spending most of the time guarding the other teams best player. Also, you said "Swap him with Doncic these playoffs; while you can't put him to guard Giannis, you could put him on a lesser threat" - DeAngelo Russel would have knocked them out of the playoffs with JJ Reddick guarding him.

"Imagine a lineup of Doncic/Reddick/Embiid/Harris/Butler." - That backcourt would get destroyed on defense. Who does Donic and JJ guard in the Raptors series? Is Donic going to be guarding Kawhi? Or will Butler take him and Doncic guards Siakim? Maybe Doncic guards Lowrey and Reddick goes to Siakim??? There is no way that that line up makes it through to the finals. Doncics 32.7% three-point shooting is not going to suddenly make up for the lack of defense.

At this stage Doncic is a very good young player, but he has large flaws in his game - he is a below-average shooter and a below-average defender. Hopefully, he becomes a better than the average shooter, but there is nothing to suggest that he will become elite. Hopefully he becomes an average defender, because physically there is no way he becomes elite.

Simmons has a major flaw in his game, Doncic has a couple of large flaws. While both will be very good players, I think it's 50/50 as to who can overcome their floors and will be the better player.

Absolutely hilarious that you call Harden not a winner but Gobert is. Houston has consistently been one of the best teams in the west, they've had multiple playoff runs. Only limited by having to face Goldenstate 4 teams in the playoffs.

Houston just beat Utah in 5 games in 2 consecutive seasons because Utah could not even manage 100 points a game in either series.

And the Series were people criticize Simmons offense was against the Raptors, with 11/7/5, while being terrible in the half court when he had the ball and killing spacing when he didnt.

Absolutely hilarious that you either struggle with simple comprehension or have deliberately misquoted me.

I said that Gobert and Harden have the same issue - limited to one side of the ball. Gobert is as valuable defensively as Harden is offensively. Not hard to understand.....unless you are trying to make a false statement.

Fair that was a mistake on my end. Still, how can you paint Harden as "not playing winning basketball" when his teams have been consistently elite in the regular season and playoffs, and have only been eliminated by great teams in Warriors and Spurs

[moistnessfiscal]

What playoff deficiencies? A Simmons-led offense took the NBA Champs to a game 7 buzzer beater. Steve Nash never averaged 20ppg and won 2 MVPs.

Simmons led? Simmons was the third option... Look back to last year’s Boston series, Ben was a clog in their offence, a Ben Simmons led offence just has too many limitations. To Steve Nash I say good for him.

He had a bad series against Boston as a rookie, it happens. At least he was in the playoffs. He led the team to 17 straight wins to help them get there when Joel fractured his orbital.

Not to mention, Luka would have been 3rd/4th scoring option on the Sixers this year too.

See what happens when high level defensive team gameplans for you in the playoffs?

Yes, Luka likely would’ve been 3rd or 4th option, but he would’ve been able to space the floor, this is major for Joel.

[JAYZGOAT]

How about we wait until Luka actually makes the playoffs so we can have some playoff series to compare

[TheBallsDeeper]

At this stage Doncic is a very good young player, but he has large flaws in his game - he is a below-average shooter and a below-average defender. Hopefully, he becomes a better than the average shooter, but there is nothing to suggest that he will become elite. Hopefully he becomes an average defender, because physically there is no way he becomes elite.

Simmons has a major flaw in his game, Doncic has a couple of large flaws. While both will be very good players, I think it's 50/50 as to who can overcome their floors and will be the better player.

If you think last season tells us that Doncic is a poor shooter you need to get much better at watching basketball. Luka was actually a much better shooter than most were expecting and I'm much higher on his ability to become a plus level 3 point shooter than I was prior to the season.

FWIW, he was also much better at drawing fouls than I expected.

Again, he shot about 34% from 3 if we discount heaves/shots over 30 feet. Given his volume, age, % of shots assisted and lack of offensive help (esp in the 2nd half of the year) that's very impressive.

I said Doncic is a below average shooter, not a poor shooter. Statistically he is a below average shooter, that's not an opinion, it's a fact. And not just this year:

Liga ACB 3pt%
16-17 - .295
17-18 - .293

EuroLeague ACB 3pt%
16-17 - .371
17-18 - .329

I'm pretty sure he will improve, and it can be argued why he is below average (poor shot selection, no decent teammates, immaturity, no open shots where he is much better), but it is a flaw that needs to improve.

[LKN]

Also, I am not severely overrating Luka’s skill set, nor am I underrating Ben’s, I simply look at a playoff situation and see the clear deficiencies in a Simmons led offence, Luka isn’t perfect either, he’s not even better than Beal or Walker but he can emulate 90% of what they offer and that’s enough. Also if you’re making the assumption that Ben will make progress next year, Doncic wasn’t even in great shape in his rookie season, he has a much easier path to improvement than Ben does.

What playoff deficiencies? A Simmons-led offense took the NBA Champs to a game 7 buzzer beater. Steve Nash never averaged 20ppg and won 2 MVPs.

Simmons led the offense yet his 14.9% Usage ranked 5th among starters in the Milwaukee series.

His 23.1% Ast % ranked second to...Jimmy Butler at 27.5%.

Simmons took care of the ball with a whopping 20.2% TOV %, unlike Jimmy who turned it over often with a staggering 9.3%.

On the bright side Simmons was efficient with his 60 shot attempts!

I don't know why people can't accept that Butler was pretty easily the best offensive player on the 76ers last year. The data tells us that their offense was better (usually significantly better) when he was on the floor.

Embiid was certainly their best overall player, but Butler was pretty clearly #2.


FWIW, I'm no anti-sixers... I don't think losing Reddick will hurt that much. He really was abysmal on defense and in the playoffs didn't really help the offense that much.