I would like the Celtics to take a flyer on Ben Simmons as a back-up small ball centre.
Basically play him like San Antonio played Boris Diaw, as a post up playmaker. Simmons athleticism has been sapped from his back injuries, but he is still a 6-10 elite passer, who is a solid rebounder, and works hard on defence.
Obviously he is useless attacking the rim and horrific at the free throw line, but playing him as a centre and surrounding him with the right type of players to counter his weaknesses may make him a net positive.
Prichard
White
Brown
Hauser
Simmons
If Simmons could get his head straight, this could really be interesting. But then again, i don?t know how he?ll fit with Mazzulla ball since he doesn?t have a three point shot.
I understand but it looks like Queta is going to be our starting centre and he cannot shoot from three either. Given it is a gap year, perhaps it is worth experimenting.
He fell out of the Clippers rotation completely when they could have used him the most in the playoffs. At this point pushing 30 years old with Ben I?m not seeing a turnaround at this point and I think his back injuries really drag him down. It is tempting though but I?d rather take a chance on a younger player.
I thought B Simmons played well for the Clippers in the playoffs and that Ty Lue made a mistake dropping him from the rotation. He did better on Jokic than I expected and allowed LAC to use Zubac against D Jordan. LAC had to match Zubac's minutes to Jokic's minutes without B Simmons in the rotation because Batum was the backup center. Batum allowed Denver to play D Jordan less who is one of the worst players in the league and was killing them in the series. I don't understand why Ty Lue went away from using Zubac against non-Jokic lineups. It was causing DEN huge problems. DEN never stopped it. Ty Lue just stopped using it.
Ben Simmons was nothing special for LAC. Probably around the 15th-20th best backup center (45th-50th best center in the league). He defended well (but no longer at a high level) and rebounded well. He gave some ball-handling and passing but not much. And little scoring. He rarely found a way to use his quickness, handles and passing to create advantages for himself but it was a fun sight on the nights he did.
Still, that is a useful player compared to what we currently have. We have Queta as starter. Garza as backup who is an offense-only player. I don't think Tillman is an NBA level player anymore. His body looked shot every time he stepped on the court last season. Ben Simmons would give us a useful alternative at center. A mobile defensive big man with minimal offensive utility. Queta is a big defensive center with mediocre mobility. Garza an offensive center. Simmons could help us. I'd like to have him here.
I'd love someone useful as a 3rd center. Some insurance for Garza who hasn't shown he can defend at an NBA level. Simmons can do that.
