It’s all about the jumpshot — or lack-thereof.
The Melbourne-born jet put the Boston Celtics to the sword, slicing and dicing his way to the hoop on his way to a team-high 24 points on just 16 shots, adding 9 assists and 8 rebounds.
But the question came early in the post-game press conference.
‘Do you get frustrated by the focus on the things you can’t do?’
It used to be an annoyance, now he’s prepared for it.
“No, because, there’s a reason — I’m skilled, I’m gifted, so I think I’m pretty good at what I do,” Simmons said.
“There’s things I’ve got to get better at, everybody knows that … it’s shooting, but I’m working. It is what it is”.
There was some hope that the 23-year-old athletic freak might make his first NBA three-pointer, but it just wasn’t required.
The 23-year-old athletic freak looked a step ahead of every player on the floor against a new-look Celtics line-up to last season’s defensive dynamo — Boston’s defensive pillars, Aussie Aron Baynes (Phoenix) and Al Horford (now Simmons’ teammate) gone.
The defensively-limited Enes Kanter and Daniel Thiess were left to guard the rim and Simmons was like a kid in a candy shop, his efforts punctuated by an absurd in-motion one-handed catch and finish on the break that set social media alight.
Coach Brett Brown gushed his star charge had “put his thumbprint” on the contest.
“He is just so gifted, obviously, physically, but now it’s starting to morph in with like a mentality,” Brown said after the game.
“You take that 6’10” body and that athleticism, that physical tank-like mentality and it’s a powerful combination.
“He probably had a few turnovers that we wished didn’t happen, but by and large, I thought he had an excellent game and I especially liked his mindset, trying to put his thumbprint on the game from a physical standpoint.”
The 208cm point guard might have been the architect, but he had plenty of co-workers doing their bit.
Big man Joel Embiid had a 15-point, 13-rebound double-double, Tobias Harris had 15-15, Horford managed 16 points and fellow new acquisition Josh Richardson scored 17.
On the eve of his first step into season No.3, Simmons declared he would only be satisfied with an NBA title at season’s end.
If he keeps playing like this, that just might come true.
