Aussie Ben Simmons slick passing on display in second game for Philly

“If you watched any of Ben Simmons’ first game as a member of the Sixers organization, it wasn’t hard to be impressed with the 6’10” point forward dazzling with passes, running the offense and leading the fast break. It was also clear the former LSU star has plenty of room to grow. There were several highlight-worthy passes during the week, but his best play may have come Thursday against the Jazz.

In his Summer League debut, Simmons grabbed eight boards, and generally took off down the court immediately afterward. Simmons’ blend of athleticism, playmaking and transition dominance was on full display in his debut against the Celtics, and a more efficient night from the field would put a nice bow on his short stay in Salt Lake City. “He just finds awesome joy and enthusiasm in sharing the basketball, and that becomes contagious”.

Comparisons to Magic Johnson and LeBron James are unfair, but the passing ability is reminiscent.

“They’re finding ways to figure out how to play with him”, 76ers Summer League coach Billy Lange said. Granted, the Utah Summer League was only a four-team field, but Simmons’ assist numbers would have been good for second in the larger Orlando Summer League as well.

“I was just trying to be more aggressive and attack the basket”, Lyles said. They have given a lot of guys an opportunity to play at the highest level the last few years, and Paul certainly has the scoring ability to get a flier from a team in the league. “That was what they were giving me and I took it”. The Jazz’s strategy was to back off of Simmons, taking advantage of his reluctance to take jump shots, but Simmons used that space to find passing lanes for others.

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Simmons finished the game with just under 29 minutes on court registering 6 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists, as the Sixers secured a 86-75 win over the Jazz. Against the Jazz on Thursday night, Simmons got matched up with the bigger, slower Tibor Pleiss. Simmons could have contributed more points-wise, but the 19-year-old missed a handful of jump shots and free throws.