NBA: Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid at 76ers ‘the next Kobe and Shaq’ - US View on Aussie
US VIEW: Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid at the 76ers could become one of the great NBA pairings - yet league experts are already asking if it can survive.
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BEN Simmons and Joel Embiid could become one of the great NBA pairings - yet league experts are already asking if it can survive.
The Philadelphia 76ers stars have quickly struck up a blockbuster partnership in Simmons’ rookie season, yesterday destroying the Lakers - with the Aussie posting 18 points, nine rebounds, 10 assists and a career-high five steals, as Embiid notched a historic stat line of 46 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists and seven blocks.
The performance was just the latest sign that Philly’s infamous ‘Process’ - tanking for outstanding draft prospects such as Simmons and Embiid - worked, and it had NBA watchers like The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor making enormous calls:
Joel Embiid has GOAT Center potential. Ben Simmons has GOAT Point Guard potential. It doesn't mean they'll get there, but they have a chance, which can't be said about many other players.
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) November 16, 2017
The Process worked.
Yet it also shot the narrative forward to the potential for a power struggle as the pair become bigger and bigger stars, competing to be the face of their franchise.
Speaking on ESPN’s The Hoop Collective podcast, Philadelphia Inquirer writer Keith Pompey said Simmons and Embiid may find themselves in a “whose team is it” scenario. Pompey said the Aussie had completely surpassed expectations in his rookie season, especially after a lukewarm college career.
“The brother was on cruise control, just until he got to the NBA,” Pompey said.
“Some people may criticise him for that but I’m going to be honest with you: As good as Joel Embiid is, and he is very good, I think that Ben Simmons is right there with him. Not if Joel keeps having these games like he had last night, but in a couple of years, we’re going to be writing stories to say: ‘Whose team is it and who’s the best player on the team?’
Host Marc Spears: “They’re the next Kobe and Shaq right?”
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Without any obvious intention to hint at future tension, FOX Sports NBA expert Chris Broussard compared Simmons-Embiid to another great partnership gone bad: Shaq and Anfernee ‘Penny’ Hardaway.
As for the Sixers, I haven’t been this excited about a young duo since Shaq & Penny. Both Simmons & Embiid can be all-time greats (yeah, I said it!) & their games complement one another’s perfectly.
— Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) November 16, 2017
All of this is clearly far from the mind of Simmons, who posted the following on his Twitter after he and Embiid destroyed the Lakers:
— Ben Simmons (@BenSimmons25) November 16, 2017
Yet on the previous Hoop Collective episode, ESPN writer Kevin Arnovitz also flagged the potential for an Embiid-Simmons clash once their honeymoon period was over.
“I’m curious to see how the dynamics surface, because everything’s great before there is a dynamic,” Arnovitz said.
“And the thing that happens is Simmons has only been, basically he’s playing professional basketball for one month and I’m curious to see how the interplay between Simmons - who’s not a terribly expressive guy - and Embiid - who’s an incredibly expressive guy - how it materialises. I’m curious to see the distribution of persona on the team.
“All that stuff is well and good when the team’s overachieving, it’s been playing for exactly one month. But that’s going to be interesting.”
Arnovitz also raved about Simmons’ game.
“He is truly one of the most unique guys to come in this league in ages,” Arnovitz said.
“I’m still getting used to seeing the little letters ‘PG’ next to his name in the box score. I know we have a long history of big point guards in this league but I don’t think we’ve ever seen somebody with this kind of breadth, in terms of body type, in terms of talent, in terms of skill.
“I don’t think people speak kindly enough about his vision, which is clearly unreal. He’s overly ambitious at this point but I will take overly ambitious and recall all the fantastic point guards who racked up huge turnover numbers in their rookie season.
“His ability to draw contact - he’s a brute. He plays so physically, which for all the high pick-and-roll point guards we have in this league, I don’t know any of them who play as physically as Simmons, who almost welcomes contact as an opportunity to either go even harder at the rim, or find teammates.
“It’s really amazing. For all the attention elsewhere in the league, Simmons - he’s a beast.”
Podcast guest Chris Herring, a senior writer for ESPN’s FiveThirtyEight, said only LeBron James and James Harden sprung to mind as rivals to Simmons’ passing creativity, especially on no-look passes.
Writing for The Ringer, in a feature on coach Brett Brown, John Gonzalez summarised the Simmons-Embiid pairing:
“Ben Simmons is the early runaway favourite for Rookie of the Year. Embiid leads the team in PER, points, rebounds, and blocks per game. Simmons leads the Sixers in assists and steals per game. Embiid is tops in trash talk; Simmons is first in highlights. (Or maybe they’re tied in highlights.) They’re the best Philly duo since butterscotch teamed up with the krimpet.”
Writing for the Los Angeles Times after the Lakers game, Helene Elliott wrote that Simmons was truly having a breakout season and referred to a conversation the Aussie had with Brown.
“The topic was extraordinary. But so is Simmons, the unlikely 6-foot-10 point guard whose lack of a consistent outside shot is almost trivial compared to the vision, quickness and selflessness he brings to perhaps the most difficult position a rookie can play,” Elliott wrote.
“’I showed him the royalty, the company he’s in with the assist leaders. It’s amazing,’ Brown said of Simmons, who ranks fifth in the NBA at 7.7 assists per game behind James Harden, Russell Westbrook, John Wall and LeBron James while also averaging 17.8 points and 9.2 rebounds.
“’To look at the royalty that you’re around, look at the company that surrounds you when you look at the NBA assist leaders, it’s a reminder that he doesn’t need to score. He can score and it does help, but it’s not mandatory, especially making shots. That’s not going to define him this year. I think finishing will and free throws will. But growing that end of his game, and encouraging your point guard to pass the heck out of it like you do, it’s exceptional at an early stage.’”
Writing for Yahoo Sports, Dan Devine rated his Top 10 NBA rookies one month in to the season and said Simmons was an easy choice as No.1.
“This isn’t hard,” Devine wrote.
“Here’s the list of players who have averaged at least 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists per game as rookies: Oscar Robertson and Ben Simmons.
“Here’s the list of players who have assisted on more than 25 percent of their teammates’ baskets, pulled down more than 10 percent of available rebounds and made 50 percent of their shots as rookies: Magic and Ben Simmons.
“Through four weeks, Simmons isn’t just the front-runner for Rookie of the Year. He’s a legitimate All-Star contender. The wait is over. It was worth it.”
Originally published as NBA: Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid at 76ers ‘the next Kobe and Shaq’ - US View on Aussie
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