Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Simmons pointed in right direction
CAMDEN, N.J. » A bit of a legend, a bit of a myth, always a promise, Ben Simmons showed Tuesday that he was a little something else, too: A basketball player.
Shielded for nearly a calendar year after cracking his foot in the 2016 training camp, there was Simmons running and jumping at full speed late in the 76ers’ first 2017 camp practice. Though the press was only permitted a brief, latepractice peek, Simmons was fast and comfortable in full-court drills, handled the ball with ease and mixed in a dunk.
He was even used to make an entry pass in a late-game, sideline-inbound drill, an assignment Brett Brown likes to reserve for tall players, unlikely to panic, with good hands.
“It was great,” Simmons said. “It was good to get everybody back and get in the flow of things.”
The first overall pick in the 2016 draft, Simmons missed his first NBA season. But he appeared in peak shape Tuesday, demonstrated no limp or effects from the fracture, and was reported to have shared first-team point guard duties with Markelle Fultz.
“I was a little rusty, but it was only Day 1,” Simmons said. “But I am looking forward to Day 2 and having fun out there. “I am ready to go.” Though knee miseries did not allow Joel Embiid, Jahlil Okafor or Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot to practice fully, there were zero restrictions on Simmons.
“I feel like I have had enough of a sample of Ben Simmons in the month of September,” Brown said. “So there wasn’t really anything that I saw today that stood out any more than what I’d seen in September. And what I saw in September was fantastic, because you could see him play against bodies. You could see his mindset to push a ball. You could see his growth and potential defensively. You’ve heard me talk about it. So you saw those types of things in a perhaps more real setting.”
••• Prior to practice, Brown stressed one bullet point: The Sixers were to prepare to make the playoffs this season. Nothing less.
J.J. Redick has been on 11 NBA playoff teams. Any recommendations? “I think the step that you make is figuring out how to win games,” the newly added shooter said. “Winning is really hard in this league. And kind of making that leap from a team that wins occasionally to a team that wins the majority of the time, a lot of times comes down to figuring out how tough it is to win and executing down the stretch do to it.”
••• Fultz officially is one training-camp practice into his NBA career. The in-house buzz: He was anything but out of place.
“He lets me coach him,” Brown said. “He is willing to be a good soldier and fit in and be a part of a bunch of good guys and some talent and a program that is on the rise. But having said that, it doesn’t mean you take a back seat. He is clearly gifted in the open court. He is clearly gifted in the middle pick-and-roll.
“He’s elite as a human being. He wants to be coached. He wants us to win. And along that path, we will all figure out Markelle Fultz’s role and grow his skill package and how he coexists with a bunch of other good, young players.” Fultz had no complaints. “It was great, really, way better than I expected,” he said. “There was a lot more running. But I enjoyed that, getting up and down with my teammates and getting a feel for everybody. I know what our goals are for this season, so I can start working on them every day.
“It was easier than I thought. I think I am so hard on myself that it couldn’t be anything else but easier. But it was still tough. I enjoyed it though. It was good.”
NOTES » With the first 30 minutes dedicated mostly to cardio, the first practice went about a half-hour longer than scheduled. “The gym had pop and it had pace,” Brown said. “And I attribute most of it because their fitness base is elite for this stage.” Said Redick: “It was a great day. I feel we got a lot done, both offensively and defensively.” ... With Embiid and Okafor limited, many of the first-team center reps went to Richaun Holmes. Amir Johnson also had some looks. … The Sixers were encamped in a hotel on the eve of practice. There, they were treated to a pre-camp pep talk from Charles Barkley. Fultz’s takeaway: “Just the passion he has for us. Even though he is not playing for us anymore, he told us about the success that he thinks we can have, and how important it was to show Philly pride. It makes you want to play for all the legends that came before you.” … Forward James Michael McAdoo’s uncle, Bob McAdoo, played 29 late-career games with the 1986 Sixers. “I don’t talk to uncle a lot,” the younger McAdoo said. “He’s been busy. I’ve been busy. We talk in passing, but nothing specifically involving Philadelphia.”