Brett Brown thinks Ben Simmons can have biggest impact vs. zone by being like Enes Kanter, Kenneth Faried

Brett Brown has openly discussed many areas in which he’d like to see development from Ben Simmons.

The one that got the most attention was his public request on Dec. 7 for Simmons to shoot at least one three-pointer per game. Simmons has yet to meet that standard and has taken only one shot from outside of the paint since, a missed 11-foot fadeaway jumper in Boston.

At other times, Brown has stressed Simmons’ defensive consistency, his stewardship of the team as a point guard and his free throws. 

Before the Sixers’ 125-108 win Saturday night over the Wizards, Brown honed in on a new skill.

Where I think Ben can have his greatest impact hurting a zone is being a live-footed, relentless, committed offensive rebounder. … That's an area of Ben Simmons’ game where he can feature on scout tapes like [Kenneth] Faried used to — like, ‘You better box him out.’ [Enes] Kanter — you wouldn’t go into any NBA game without Kanter being highlighted on the scout tape, saying, ‘You better go hit him or he’s going to get 10 offensive rebounds.’ I see Ben, so athletic and elusive and just quick two points — that to me is where he can have his greatest impact in our zone offense. 

"To your point of, ‘Can he space and make some threes and do that type of thing?’ Maybe. But I think it’s low-hanging fruit in regards to where I think he can make his most impactful contribution to our zone offense.

Against an opponent short on healthy big men, Simmons grabbed four offensive rebounds Saturday. He also had 14 points (5 of 10 from the floor, 4 of 9 from the foul line), 11 assists and six turnovers. 

Faried and Kanter are both excellent offensive rebounders. Kanter has been in the top three in offensive rebounding percentage for five straight years, while Faried, nicknamed "The Manimal," averaged at least three offensive boards in six seasons despite never playing more than 28.1 minutes per game.

Neither player is intuitive company for Simmons, a former No. 1 pick and Rookie of the Year, and an All-Star in his second season. 

But, while neither Faried nor Kanter have ever neared the 11 assists Simmons registered Saturday, the idea of Simmons having a comparable role against a zone defense isn’t absurd. His obvious limitations as a shooter mean that he spends much of his time camped along the baseline, in the “dunker spot.” Brown has also recently shifted more ball handling responsibility to Josh Richardson, and he said Saturday that he called more plays than usual vs. Washington.

“I think I was just trying to do my best to get guys organized and get us into our stuff,” Richardson said. “I don’t think Coach Brown should have to call plays every time down the court because he has a lot of things on his plate. That’s his job, a lot of his job, but we’re trying to make it easier on everybody, so if I can communicate, Ben can communicate the plays out of free throws and stuff like that, I think it will make things run a little smoother.”

Simmons didn’t agree that Brown had been more hands-on. 

“I didn’t think there were that many more plays called,” he said. “I think we were just more organized and structured before we got into anything.”

Regardless of the semantics, there was a consensus that the Sixers had, after a dreary week, played better against the zone.

“I think we did a lot better,” Simmons said. “Just moving the ball. That’s really the key to it. You can’t hold onto it too long. It’s something I’ve been playing against my whole life, so to me it’s not new. It just takes a little bit of time because everybody has to be on the same page in terms of moving the ball.”

Richardson, who scored 21 points and attempted 17 shots a night after taking just four in the first three quarters against Dallas, had identified effort as an issue Friday. Did he see any improvement?

“I thought our effort was a little better,” he said. “I think we still have steps that we can take. I think it was a baby step in the right direction.”

There’s not always a direct correlation, but effort and rebounding often are tied together. The Sixers outrebounded Washington, 53-38, and are now 20-4 this season when they’ve held a rebounding advantage. They’re 1-6 when they've lost the rebounding battle. 

Until Saturday, Simmons generally hadn’t shined on the offensive glass. He has a career-low 4.4 offensive rebounding percentage this year.

There’s no indication Simmons’ three-point attempts will rise significantly in the near future, but he seems poised to increase his offensive boards if the Sixers continue to encounter zones.

“I felt his pursuit,” Brown said. “We chart a lot of did you go or didn’t you type stuff. Did you move forward or did you go backwards? … I thought that he as a go guy tonight was far more committed than he has been. He’s been pretty good, but I felt he was excellent tonight trying to, like I say: ‘I dare you — feature on somebody else’s scout tape saying, you better box this kid out.’ And I thought that he had live legs and committed effort to go get stuff.”

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