Brown ready to point Simmons forward
PHILADELPHIA » If Brett Brown and the 76ers projected anything with certainty as the season started, it was that Ben Simmons was a point guard. Well … maybe not. With little run-up and relative quiet Wednesday, Brown sprinkled his comments before a 115-101 victory over the Chicago Bulls with hints that he would transition Simmons to the four spot. That could coincide with a projected return of Markelle Fultz, sometime this season, from a shoulder injury.
“It’s part of Ben’s evolution,” Brown said. “When you look at, ‘How has Ben done?’ I don’t think any of us would dispute that Ben can pass. I don’t think any of us will dispute that he is a willing passer and really sort of elite in the first two seconds of a shot clock.
“He is going to be playing some ‘four’ when Markelle comes back and we start looking at different lineups. Point guard is not that that’s his only position. It’s the one we play him at the most. And especially with the injury to Markelle, he has assumed that role entirely.”
Fultz was drafted as a combo guard ideally suited to share a backcourt with Simmons at either guard spot. By Wednesday, Brown sounded like the rookie would be a better fit at point guard, and that may or may not have to do with the reality that Fultz has not proven ready to shoot at an NBA standard.
“It’s part of his growth,” Brown said of Simmons. “And it’s part of my growth with those two.”
In a press release announcing that he’d been chosen for the Rising Stars event at the All-Star Game, the Sixers called Simmons a “guard-forward.” Simmons and Fultz both have said often that they will play any asked.
*** On “Australian Heritage Night”, Simmons collected 19 points, 17 rebounds and 15 assists as the Sixers responded from a tough loss in Memphis to win for the eighth time in 10 games.
“I was making it so I was actually trying to get boards,” Simmons said. “I was going to the boards every time I could. When I do, I get rebounds. I had gone away from that the last couple of weeks.”
*** Nearing peak fitness, Joel Embiid may soon be cleared to play back-to-back games.
“He’s very prideful,” Brown said. “He’s trying to get in better shape every time that we go on the court. We’re seeing more and more of him in practice situations. We’re seeing more and more of him in shoot-around situations, where we are at some point, not that far away, going to talk about back-to-backs. “All this is coming.” The Sixers’ sports scientists have forbidden Embiid from playing games on consecutive days since he was drafted in 2014. The Sixers are scheduled for nine more back-to-back situations this season. They play in Oklahoma City and Milwaukee Jan. 28 and 29. They host Miami Feb. 2, then play Feb. 3 at Indiana.
“It’s trending,” Brown said, “in the way that we want.”
*** As part of the NBA’s AllStar Weekend, Embiid, Simmons and Dario Saric will represent the Sixers in the Rising Stars game, Feb. 16 in Los Angeles. The game features firstand second-year players. Ten 10 U.S.-born players will oppose 10 foreign-born stars.
Embiid (Cameroon), Saric (Croatia) and Simmons (Australia) were picked for the international team. The rosters were chosen by NBA assistant position coaches.
“It is an honor to be a part of All-Star weekend,” said Saric, a second-time Rising Stars selection. “This is some kind of a gift to me. We have three in the Rising Stars game, and that means we should be very good in the future.
“This is a nice thing. To represent my country and have the flag of my country on my jersey means a lot.”
To Brown, it also said something about the Sixers’ ever-debated process.
“I think it’s just a very notnegotiable example for our city that we have players that people recognize, and the pain that we endured is actually producing some fruits of our pain,” he said. “It is a good statement for our progress.”
*** NOTES » Trevor Booker dislocated his left middle finger. Postgame x-rays were negative, the Sixers said .... T.J. McConnell was excused from the game to attend the funeral of his father-in-law. Larry Drew II had been signed to a 10-day contract Tuesday and filled in at the point for 9:13. He did not score. … The Sixers were also without Jerryd Bayless (wrist), J.J. Redick (leg), Demetrius Jackson (left abductor strain) and Fultz (shoulder). … Villanova legend Ryan Arcidiacono played 17:53 for the Bulls, did not score, but had four assists and was a plus-15. … The Sixers will play their next four on the road, beginning Friday in San Antonio. They will return Feb. 2 to play Miami.