76ers Simmons Stars in Hawks Win

Ben Simmons -Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

21-year-old Ben Simmons continued his stunning form in yesterday’s 119 – 109 victory over Atlanta. The rookie lead Philadelphia to their third straight win after a run of three games without a double-double.

After starting impressively, Philadelphia had to wait until a fourth-quarter rally to end the Hawks’ resurgence.

In Wednesday’s win, Simmons had 19 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists in a match where the 76ers had six players who also scored in the double digits. He almost made a triple-double, falling one assist short. This was another performance that will increase the hype around a player who has lit up the league this season.

He has now recorded five double-doubles and one triple-double. The only rookies who come close to Simmons this year are John Collins of the Atlanta Hawks and Lauri Markkanen of the Chicago Bulls, with two double-doubles each.

Simmons has posted 10 points, five rebounds, and five assists across his first 8 games. In addition, he is on track to equal Oscar Robertson’s record. Robertson also recorded these scores over his first 10 games for the Cincinnati Royals in 1960.

Over the season, Simmons is averaging 53% of shots from the field, 18.5 points per game, 9.6 rebounds per game and 7.8 assists per game.

Simmons on the future

Since Philly have won 3 in 3 and 4 out of 5, they comfortably look like the best team in the East. Simmons thinks they can get even better. Looking to the future, he said:

“There’s a lot more [potential]. Way more, I think in a few years, it’s going to be fun.”

Speaking about his development as a player at Philadelphia, he said that he’s seeing a lot more coverages.

“I think they try to switch it up a lot. I don’t think there’s been one game where it’s been very consistent, the way they’ve played me defensively, but they’re throwing a lot of different things at me, different players and different coverages.”

Simmons’ teammate Joel Embiid also played well against Atlanta, recording 21 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists. If those two can keep going at this level, then Philadelphia will push all the way to make it to the playoffs.

The 76ers sit ninth in the Eastern Conference with a 4-4 record, the same as the Milwaukee Bucks.

 
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