Last Week: 2 ↓
SIXERS
Record: 17-7
Pace: 102.0 (6) OffRtg: 111.4 (13) DefRtg: 107.4 (4) NetRtg: +4.1 (5)
Ben Simmons is just 1-for-6 from 3-point range (his last attempt was two weeks ago and barely grazed the rim), but he leads the league with 93 assists on 3-pointers (4.4 per game), even though the Sixers rank 24th in total 3-pointers as a team.
It helps that they have more shooters around him, but Simmons led the league in 3-point assists before the season was suspended last year.
This season, the Sixers have shot 41% from 3-point range with Simmons on the floor and just 29% with him off the floor. And that discrepancy doesn’t shrink much (it becomes 39% vs. 29%) when you removed the numbers of Seth Curry, who has played 86% of his minutes alongside Simmons. Tobias Harris has been much more efficient alongside the starting point guard.
Without Simmons against Portland on Thursday, the Sixers went almost 30 minutes without hitting a 3-pointer, missing their first 12 attempts from beyond the arc. He returned on Saturday and assisted on five of their 10 3-pointers in an easy win over Brooklyn. He bends the defense with his attacks into the paint, he sees the entire floor, and he delivers sharp and accurate passes.
The win over the Nets improved the Sixers to 13-0 when they’ve had their starting lineup together. They’ve allowed 102.9 points per 100 possessions in those 13 games and 112.5 in the other 11.
Week 8: @ SAC, @ POR, @ PHX
