Mentor LeBron takes Simmons, Sixers to task
PHILADELPHIA » Ben Simmons made sure to tick all of the usual game-readiness boxes.
He launched free throws at his team’s morning shootaround. Check. He hit a bunch of baseline jumpers at Wells Fargo Center. Check. He looked smooth hustling off pre-game screens by his assistant coaches. Check. It all looked good. Simmons checked out, so he wouldn’t have to sit out. After all, the 76ers’ rookie point guard had something to prove. Monday night, Simmons took the court against a guy he calls “a big brother.”
The rest of the basketball world calls him “King James.”
The Cleveland Cavaliers, led by LeBron James, coasted past the Sixers, 113-91. James exited to cheers with 4:39 to play in the fourth quarter. He finished with 30 points on 12-for-22 shooting, accompanied by 13 rebounds and six assists.
Simmons will assure anyone who asks that a game against his mentor holds no more significance than any other contest.
“It’s one of 82. It’s another game,” said Simmons, who had 10 points and eight boards. “I play my game. I’m not going to back down from anybody, no matter who it is. I’ve got a lot of respect for him, but at the end of the day, I’m going to play my game.”
Simmons was not available for comment after the game. He sprained his right ankle in the fourth quarter and did not return. He was back on the court Monday amid a promise that the left elbow soreness that kept him from Saturday’s win over Orlando had been remedied. He wore a protective sleeve on that arm just to be sure.
“Nothing would stop me from playing this game,” he said. But it’s just one of 82, right? “Same as every game,” Simmons quipped.
It sure didn’t feel that way. Granted, the Sixers have sold out each of their nine home games. But there’s always a little more juice in the building when James is in town.
Sixers coach Brett Brown vowed that Simmons and Robert Covington would split the responsibility of guarding James. And after the Sixers hit the first two bucks of the game, James put Brown’s defensive assignments to task. The key to guarding James, said Simmons, is “watching where his eyes are.” That didn’t seem to work in the opening quarter.
James went right at Simmons out of the gate. Simmons stuffed James on one drive, but the fourtime league MVP recovered to drop in an uncontested follow layup. On Cleveland’s next trip, James went left … and, in so doing, went right by Simmons for another layup. Next possession, James rose up for a 3 at the top of the arc.
In a blink, James had 13 of the Cavaliers’ first 15 points.
The Sixers (11-8) saw their winning streak stopped at three games. They weren’t beaten by the Cavaliers so much as by their ineffective long-range shooting. They missed all 11 of their first-half three-point attempts, and finished 3-for-28 from beyond the arc.
“Any time you shoot 10 percent from 3, that’s not going to help you out,” said T.J. McConnell.
“I hate losing,” said Joel Embiid, who had a team-best 30 points, “but I think it’s actually good we got our (backsides) kicked so we can go back, learn we can’t take any days off and get comfortable.”
Simmons and James have had a kinship for some time. Simmons said it dates back to James seeing one of Simmons’ high school games on television. Ever since, theirs has developed into a mentor-student relationship, with the two sharing an agent (Rich Paul), sharing gyms in the offseason, and James sharing advice whenever the younger Simmons sends a text.
But as for those comparisons, Simmons has grown tired of them. So has James.
“He’s a hall of famer, if not the greatest ever to play the game,” Simmons said. “I’d be annoyed, too, if someone was comparing me to a rookie that just came into the league. He’s having one of his best seasons so far. You shouldn’t compare me to someone like that; not yet.” No, not yet. Not until the student is ready to dethrone the master.
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The Sixers’ season-long homestand closes Wednesday night with a visit from Washington. What follows is a road game the next night in Boston.
So…with Embiid averaging close to 30 minutes per game, is it safe to say he will play both nights?
“I don’t really know,” Brown said. “I really don’t know yet.”
Brown said the subject has been broached in meetings, though he admitted that it’s never gone beyond small talk with his assistant coaches.
For what it’s worth, Embiid has not played games in consecutive days in more than four years. He played three straight nights in a Nov. 2013 tournament in the Bahamas during his lone season at Kansas.
There’s no doubt Embiid will be itching to play Thursday against the Eastern Conference-leading Celtics.
“I haven’t looked that far ahead, nor have I directly asked the question,” Brown said. … (But) we are kicking that around.”