Sincerely not trying to troll RE Ben Simmons Future. But...

[Who]

He’s a stats padder. How many of those rebounds did he fight for? How many of those assists were rondo assists? Or did he just pass the ball to Redick and he makes a few dribbles and jacks up a 3 that happens to go in? Don’t just look at the stats for professional padders. He offers nothing in a half court set.

There is a pretty good chance that If TJ McConnell is playing his minutes that we’re down 2-1.

Agreed. Low impact to his numbers.

[TomHeinsohn]

Rondo gets a lot of assists passing it to guys who make brilliant shots or moves.

[Celtics4ever]

  He’s a stats padder. How many of those rebounds did he fight for? How many of those assists were rondo assists?

Well said, TP.  A lot of those stats are empty ones too, thus far, that do not lead for wins.   He just does not seem passionate about the game and I think there is a chance Fultz is of the same ilk.

[moiso]

He’s a stats padder. How many of those rebounds did he fight for? How many of those assists were rondo assists? Or did he just pass the ball to Redick and he makes a few dribbles and jacks up a 3 that happens to go in? Don’t just look at the stats for professional padders. He offers nothing in a half court set.

There is a pretty good chance that If TJ McConnell is playing his minutes that we’re down 2-1.

Agreed. Low impact to his numbers.

It seems far easier to rack up the triple double numbers nowadays.  It used to be very significant when someone could average, say, 7 rebounds and 7 assists.  Now Westbrook has averaged a triple double 2 years in a row and guys like Simmons and Ball look like they could do it too.  I don’t think you have to be great player anymore to rack up numbers that used to be considered very rare and impressive.

[GreenFaith1819]

Ben Simmons will be FINE and he's a future All-Star - at WORST - in this league.

As long as he doesn't lose sight of the BIG PICTURE he'll grow and learn from his mistakes.

All the more reason for BOS to get Irving and GH back. We'll need to weapon up for future battles with PHI.

The Rivalry is BACK and it will be GUD for the next 5-10 years.

Now, if we could just get Paul George to The Lakers...........

[hpantazo]

Stevens seems to have figured out a way to really diminish his effectiveness which other NBA coaches will try to copy, using length and strength to stymie his game, and prevent transitional offense. If his outside shooting does not improve, his tag as a future all Pro will be removed. If he continues to rack up triple doubles, I suppose he will eventually make the all star game.

I feel the absence of veteran leadership would also help him. Guys like Redick are not of the same cloth as guys like Al Horford in that department. He could really use some mentoring.

He played better in game 3 than game 2, for what it’s worth. Thought Brett Brown’s post game comments were spot on.

Scal knew this before we even beat the Bucks. He said in one of the telecasts that if the Celtics advance, they would have "absolutely no problem with Simmons. None."

[timpiker]

I think we should wait until the series is over, and if we win, to then start making fun of the other team.

[Who]

He’s a stats padder. How many of those rebounds did he fight for? How many of those assists were rondo assists? Or did he just pass the ball to Redick and he makes a few dribbles and jacks up a 3 that happens to go in? Don’t just look at the stats for professional padders. He offers nothing in a half court set.

There is a pretty good chance that If TJ McConnell is playing his minutes that we’re down 2-1.

Agreed. Low impact to his numbers.

It seems far easier to rack up the triple double numbers nowadays.  It used to be very significant when someone could average, say, 7 rebounds and 7 assists.  Now Westbrook has averaged a triple double 2 years in a row and guys like Simmons and Ball look like they could do it too.  I don’t think you have to be great player anymore to rack up numbers that used to be considered very rare and impressive.

Agreed

I think it's easier for perimeter guys to get rebounds nowadays with all those long rebounds off of 3 pointers + the game moving to only 1 big on the court most of the time.

Offenses nowadays are geared so much around dribble drive action and spot up shooting that assist opportunities are aplenty for ball-handlers.

I really think statistics in general are not comparable in today's NBA to past generations. The last 5 years or so have moved into a new era of the league where you can only really compare present player's stats to other players also in this era. Just not comparable to past eras.

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

Man, this series is not over. That kid will be fine! Get over yourselves, he is a rookie, if healthy he has years to improve on an already good amount of talent!

[mctyson]

He’s all hype.  They want so bad for him to be the next lebron

There is a lot more than hype on Simmons.  He had a great year, his first (playing) in the NBA, and was the main reason Philly went from a basement lottery team to a top-4 playoff seed.

If there was any excess hype, it was on Philly as a team.  They had an incredible run to end the year, going undefeated through most of March and April, but some of those wins came against teams that were tanking.  Then they easily beat the Heat in Round 1, not a great team by any measure, mainly on the backs of Reddick/Bellinelli, even Ilysasova.  In other words - they relied on their key free agent signing this offseason and 2 buyouts.  Where is the process in that?

[sawick48]

...
 this just feels like a colossal moment in the present and future of Ben Simmons' career coming up in the next week.

I agree and I feel like the damage has now been done with Game 3.  This was the moment, at home, when the Sixers were supposed to turn it around and follow it with a Game 4 win to tie up the series.  Now, it doesn't even matter about Game 4.  Sixers likely win that, but then lose Game 5, and Ben Simmons will be mentally-damaged goods.  It will be a long time before he lives this one down and will be tagged as "can't win in the big moments" kind of guy.

He's 21 years old, blessed with all the gifts of a great player, and just ran up against the most well-run and coached organization in the league.  Given how the Celts played on both ends, it'd be surprising if he didn't get a serious gut check.  I questioned his mentality at LSU as much as any one, but this series does not define his career by any stretch.   

this is my whole point though.  I totally agree this could be a fart in the wind and maybe he turns into the most clutch player of all time.  That is absolutely the rational and reasonable argument, you are 100% correct.

But I guess I'm saying, to me, this just feels...different.  It just FEELS like a bigger deal.  Like I said in the OP, there's nothing to quantify it, it's 100% conjecture and projection, but still, there's this nagging feeling in combination with Stevens having a blueprint to shut him down, with his body language, with a lack of vets who can pull him out of a funk, etc. That this could be a really really big deal for his career going forward.

[Big333223]

If he doesn't show up at all this series; isn't there a very real chance this derails his career? 

No. He's a rookie who just led his team to 52 wins and the second round of the playoffs. Even if the Celtics sweep the Sixers and Simmons has a bad game 4, he still had one of the best rookie seasons since Lebron. Nothing is for sure but projecting the rest of his career on these 3 games and ignoring the entire rest of the season and playoffs seems like a bad idea.

[Kevins Gamble]

The Rivalry is BACK and it will be GUD for the next 5-10 years.

I hear this a lot....and I disagree.  I think the Sixers will be an obstacle for another year or so and with then fall apart pretty quickly (think last year's Bulls team).

Why?  Am I the only one that watches Embiid's game and thinks: this guy's body is moving like an old man's body?  There's just too much unnatural hitching in his movements...like when my old bones move in the morning after just waking up.  I noticed that when he went out of the game yesterday, he immediately laid down on the sidelines on his back.  He's only 24 years old, has already missed an entire year to injury and now prefers to lie on his back when he exits games?  I wouldn't say he's got an Oden body...but I think he's much closer to that than Hakeem's.  I fully expect his injury history to continue to pile up in the next couple of years and we continue to read stories about how the Sixers organization has to "adapt" to long stretches of the season without Embiid.

[Who]

The Rivalry is BACK and it will be GUD for the next 5-10 years.

I hear this a lot....and I disagree.  I think the Sixers will be an obstacle for another year or so and with then fall apart pretty quickly (think last year's Bulls team).

Why?  Am I the only one that watches Embiid's game and thinks: this guy's body is moving like an old man's body?  There's just too much unnatural hitching in his movements...like when my old bones move in the morning after just waking up.  I noticed that when he went out of the game yesterday, he immediately laid down on the sidelines on his back.  He's only 24 years old, has already missed an entire year to injury and now prefers to lie on his back when he exits games?  I wouldn't say he's got an Oden body...but I think he's much closer to that than Hakeem's.  I fully expect his injury history to continue to pile up in the next couple of years and we continue to read stories about how the Sixers organization has to "adapt" to long stretches of the season without Embiid.

Agreed on Embiid.

He looks worse physically than he did last season. Worse lateral movement on the perimeter when switched onto guards. Slower help & recovery. Slower off the ground.

It is worrying to see how much he is struggling to maintain his athleticism so early in his career.

[cman88]

I just question if you can build a championship team around a Point guard who cant shoot or hit free throws and a big man with an injury history.

stranger things have happened, but its counter to what the current NBA is.

And before people say "Simmons can develop a jump shot and free throws" not every player can develop a consistent shot. I've been hearing that about Marcus smart for the last 5 years...and Prior to that Rondo each summer about how he would finally Develop a shot/hit free throws.