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“Ben Simmons defends point guards better than Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade”: An interesting statistic shows the 25-year old’s versatility as a defender

Arjun Julka
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"Ben Simmons has defended the point guard position better than Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade": An interesting statistic shows the 25-year old's versatility as a defender

An interesting statistic reveals Ben Simmons has guarded each position at least 10% of the time and restricted the opposing player under their normal production.

Though Simmons has been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately, one cannot deny the 25-year old’s exceptional defensive abilities. The 76ers point guard can be a nightmare for the opposition on defense.

A back-to-back NBA All-Defensive First Team and led the league in steals during 2020, Simmons definitely makes use of his size and strength.

An interesting statistic reveals that the 3x All-Star has defended all the 5 positions at some point or the other. Simmons has restricted the opposition’s offensive efficiency.

Also read: “Did the Warriors announcer just call Ben Simmons a top 7 player in the NBA?”: NBA fans react to the Sixers star being praised at Summer League amidst trade rumors

The following is a detailed study about Simmons’ defensive efficiency and how his great ability to guard opposition has gone unnoticed.

Ben Simmons has defended all 5 basketball positions at least 10% of the time

Simmons has defended the point guard position at 17.64% of his time and restricted his opponent by -2.66 from his original production. During which the team’s efficiency has fallen by -5.72 as well.

On the other hand, Simmons has defended the shooting guard position at 21.3%. That has restricted the opposing player to -0.26 from his original efficiency. An interesting observation here is James Harden defending the shooting guard position at 27.8%.

While guarding players such as Jimmy Butler and Khris Middleton, Simmon has reduced their efficiency by -2.75 from their original production. The 76ers guard has guarded the SF position 23% of his time.

While Jeff Green can be tough to get past at the power forward position since he guards the position 36.2% of his time, Simmon is no less who guards the position at 27.4% of his time. There is a decrease by -3.34 points from what the player would originally score if Simmons wouldn’t guard him.

Also read: “If Ben Simmons makes 75-80% FTs, he can average 23-25 points per game”: Stephen A Smith has a bold prediction for the Sixers’ star while advocating a Warriors trade

Usually, the most difficult place for a point guard to defend is the center position. The 6’10 Simmons spends 10.69% of his time defending the above position. However, this is where Simmons is the most dangerous, bringing the opposition player’s production by at least -3.8%.

About the author

Arjun Julka

Arjun Julka

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Arjun Julka is a NBA author at The SportsRush. Basketball isn’t just a sport for this 26-year-old, who hails from Mumbai. He began watching the sport after stumbling upon a court in his society, helping him identify an undiscovered passion for the game of hoops. Now an ardent fan, Arjun supports Stephen Curry and the Warriors but also enjoys watching Giannis Antetokounmpo own the paint. When it comes to the GOAT debate, the TSR author feels LeBron James is yet to receive a lot of his due but cannot deny marveling at Michael Jordan’s resume.

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