Ben Simmons up against Kawhi Leonard as 76ers face Raptors

Ben Simmons will face up to his nemesis Kawhi Leonard as the 76ers take on the Raptors in the NBA playoffs.

Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers ranks No 9 in the NBA popularity stakes. Picture: AFP

American television is full of attention-seeking talking heads with spectacular teeth and dubious credentials who shout over the top of each other in an attempt to say something that will stand out from the spray of verbal dribbling that normally accompanies previews of basketball matches.

Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley are different beasts and welcome reliefs because they have the self-assuredness that comes from unquestioned clout and championship-winning resumes. On the TNT network, in business suits the size of circus tents, with eyes and ears that see and hear through all the bullshit, they get straight to the guts of any matter. One or two sentences from them can comprehensively set the scene for any match.

They’ve done it again ahead of Ben Simmons’ monumental mission against the Toronto Raptors and Kawhi Leonard in the NBA playoffs tomorrow. Leonard has monstered Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers in the regular season, when the overwhelmed Simmons has coughed up 24 turnovers in three matches. He’s bowed his head and called Leonard a freak after the All-Star forward has continually stolen possession as if he’s pinching a round ball of rubber candy from an unsuspecting baby.

“I watched two of those Toronto-Philly games and Leonard had Ben Simmons afraid to dribble,” Barkley said before O’Neal added: “I guarantee you Ben Simmons is worried about Kawhi Leonard. He’s in his head. If he doesn’t overcome that, they will lose.”

Simmons’ stock is rising, however. Here’s the list of the 12 most popular players in the NBA. LeBron James. Steph Curry. Giannis Antetokounmpo. Kyrie Irving. Joel Embiid. James Harden. Russell Westbrook. Kevin Durant. Ben Simmons. Jimmy Butler. Dwyane Wade. Paul George. How do we know they’re the most popular? Because they’re the names on the backs of the 12 most-purchased singlets.

Simmons’ appearance at No 9 is a significant development ahead of tomorrow’s start to the second round of the playoffs. He’s had his critics since he loped into the big show but for Americans to be buying replicas of his playing attire, which is always a well-considered nod to a favourite player, and ultimately a clear reflection of the pecking order of superstardom in the NBA galaxy — clearly, the polarising Simmons has started winning America over.

He was portrayed as a saviour of the 76ers when he arrived three years ago, and a saviour he has become. Previously the worst team in America, they’ve strung together two 50-win seasons and made another playoffs. He’s not hanging around the fringes of a championship-quality team. He’s in the thick of it, up to his neck in it.

But here comes his bogey man. Leonard. Asked how he thought Simmons and the 76ers could turn the tide, coach Brett Brown said: “Obviously I’m not going to tell you. He’s an All-Star and one of the greatest players in the NBA for a reason. We have studied. He’s just incredibly gifted on both sides of the ball.”

The 76ers have gone from having a jersey no self-respecting individual would wear to selling the fourth-highest number of singlets behind the glittering trio of the LA Lakers, Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics. They’ve been less successful on scoreboards against Toronto. The Raptors beat the 76ers by 17 points at home in October. They won by 11 at home in early December. They lost by 25 in Philly when Leonard was absent in late December. They won by 12 away in February.

“I understand the history of our lack of success,” Brown told reporters. “There’s a topic there. I’d remind everybody we’ve never played them with the team we now have, and so the context needs to be somewhat considered.

“I think that Ben, before our eyes, grows. I think his defensive effort in the Brooklyn series against D’Angelo (Russell), I don’t know if it gets enough credit. We hope to have some carryover on that from Ben. We have the ability to have multiple people guard Kawhi, so it would be wrong to assume that is Ben’s match-up for the series. For sure, he will be on him but we have different candidates we hope will give Kawhi some different looks. We understand what the math says with our success in Toronto. It’s not flattering. But you can credit or discredit it, and I’m discrediting it.”