Simmons welcomed some pointers from A.I.
PHILADELPHIA » When he was growing up in Australia, Ben Simmons had a poster of an NBA player on his bedroom wall. Some day, he always hoped, that player would matter in his professional career.
That day turned out to be Monday.
“A.I.,” Simmons was saying Tuesday, before the Sixers’ game against the Indiana Pacers. “I was talking to him last night. He said that no matter where he’s had to play, he had to feel the same way. He had to play hard. So, that’s how I feel.”
Simmons encountered Allen Iverson at a Sixers-sponsored Youth Gala at the Fillmore in Philadelphia, one former NBA Rookie of the Year sharing advice with the likely 2018 winner. And the conversation centered on the moment, on what the Sixers can achieve, on how taking it lightly could end in an unfortunate tumble.
“I’ve never played in the playoffs,” Simmons said. “But I have heard Coach (Brett Brown) talk about playoff atmosphere. But to me it is just a game. And you have to play hard.”
Simmons was playing hard enough before his latest meeting with Iverson to win a strong Rookie of the Year candidacy. But the reminder from a long-ago basketball hero did add valuable emphasis.
“He just said whenever he plays, he is nervous to play, just because that’s the feeling you want to have every time you step on the court,” Simmons said. “And I think that’s what makes certain players special.”
Brown often talks about “appropriate fear.” Iverson’s echo mattered to Simmons.
“Definitely,” he said. “What he said, takes me ahead to where I am thinking about it. And he’s right. That’s how you’ve got to be.
“It was special to have him there and be able to talk to him as another point guard giving me a lot of advice.”
The last time the Sixers employed Ersan Ilyasova, the veteran forward was sapping playing time from Dario Saric.
This time, that time often will be shared, not split … even if it means giving some five-spot minutes to Ilyasova.
“We have a lot of interest in growing Ersan and Dario together,” Brown said. “Their first 24 minutes together was off-thecharts productive. Stupidly effective. They can’t sustain it. It would be great if they could come close to that.”
With Joel Embiid roughly budgeted for 34 minutes a game, that leaves 14 available minutes at center. Amir Johnson will need some. Richaun Holmes will play whenever Brown is concerned that he is becoming stale. But figure Ilyasova to be high in that mix as the pennant races warm.
“They are dynamic offensively and they can pass,” said Brown of Ilyasova and Saric. “They both can pass. They both can shoot. And they coexist well with each other. And if somebody did that to us, we’d have to decide who is going to match up.”
Brown remembers the late Dean Smith, whenever his North Carolina team was behind in a game, deliberately creating a lopsided mismatch, if only to redirect momentum. In that spirit, a Saric-Ilyasova front-line combination can be a burden on opposing centers.
“You have to chase Ersan around at 25 feet,” Brown said.
Late in the season, the Sixers added veteran shooters Ilyasova and Marco Belinelli, thus disrupting their rotation. Brown is happy to accept that challenge.
“That is coaching,” Brown said. “You figure it out. You use different people in different circumstances. When I study our rotations and the way we are playing this group, I love it. I feel that we have the personnel to handle a lot of situations. I like the versatility of the team.”
Trevor Booker, who was with the Sixers for 33 games after arriving in the Jahlil Okafor trade with Brooklyn, was cleared to make room for Ilyasova. He landed in Indiana … not that the Sixers were terrified Tuesday that he’d shared any house secrets.
“Zero,” Brown said. “So many times it is so over-rated. At this stage of the year, there is not much that we don’t know about each other. There could be a rogue play call that he could get quick. But as far as Trevor sharing indepth knowledge of our team? Zero might be too low. Maybe one percent.”