Ben Simmons Scouting Report: December 2015

Ben Simmons is a point guard. But because of his size (6-10, 240 pounds) he’ll probably forever be misplaced as a wing or a big.

MORE SCOUTING REPORTS: Jakob Poeltl | Jamal Murray | Luka Doncic

Thankfully, Louisiana State University coach Johnny Jones has at least found a middle ground. Jones has played Simmons as a point guard on offense, where he has excelled, and a big man on defense, where he has been exposed. LSU has been mediocre overall (they will likely miss the NCAA Tournament), raising concerns over how much of a transcending talent Simmons really is and how exactly one can build the right team around him.

PASSING

Simmons’ best skill is still his passing, and we have witnessed his brilliance as a shot creator a lot more in college than in high school.

Montverde used Simmons mostly as a post player in the half-court, looking to leverage his size with his back to the basket. He has done that in spurts in college as well, though mostly against lesser matchups. Simmons primarily looks to assist cutters and spot-up shooters from the low post, although he has also shown some ability to act as a scorer when the opponent leaves him in an island against these lesser matchups, which was the case in his 43-point performance against North Florida.

But LSU started the season the opposite way — designing an offense that relied on Simmons handling the ball on the perimeter with three (and sometimes four) 3-point shooters spotting-up around him.

In the half-court, Simmons is almost always looking to create a corner 3-point shot. He has shown great feel for taking advantage of a collapsing defense and his height helps him see over the top. But he has proven able to do so without even needing to attack off the dribble. Simmons is perceptive when he’s surveying the defense and will often whip a pass to the corner as soon as he notices an opponent easing his stance or focusing a little too soon on taking an extra step inside to help crowd the interior on a potential dribble drive — no bending the defense needed. He does so on target, too, with the shooter receiving the ball in his shooting pocket, in position to pull the trigger before the closeout.

According to Basketball Reference, Simmons has assisted on 31.4 percent of LSU’s scores in his 372 minutes, while only turning it over on 13.1 percent of the time he’s on the floor — quite low in the context of his 25 percent usage rate. And that assist rate should actually be higher. The Tigers have hit just 33 percent of their 3-point shots despite enjoying high quality looks arranged by Simmons.

OUTSIDE SHOOTING

Creating good looks for himself has been a little more challenging, though.

As you have read or watched by now, Simmons is a notoriously poor shooter. Not only that, he is a remarkably unwilling outside shooter. According to Hoop Math, Simmons has missed 67 percent of his 62 2-point jump-shots. And that’s even a bit misleading, since most of these 2-point “jump-shots” are actually floaters, turnaround hooks or short-range toss-ups.

As far as actual jump-shots go, Simmons goes to extreme lengths not to attempt them. There was a play in the game against Marquette where Tim Quarterman drove and drew help from Simmons’ man, leaving him open for a potential catch-and-shoot 15-footer but Simmons didn’t even look at the basket. Instead, he immediately dribbled his way out of the arc for a reset.

Whenever he has attempted an outside shot, it’s clear why Simmons has no confidence in his jump-shot. He sets a short base and elevates with little fluidity (also, very mechanically) to the point it seems like a push-up shot, with absolutely no touch.

Because of that, opponents have felt comfortable sagging way off him. Henry Ellenson stood at the foul line when Simmons dribbled outside the arc. He was also able to double Quarterman aggressively on a pick-and-pop where Simmons screened and then stood still beyond the arc. In the game against Houston, Danrad Knowles backed off a couple of steps when Simmons caught the ball in the middle of the Cougars’ zone.

CLOSE-RANGE SCORING

With every opponent giving him a cushion, Simmons has been unable to blow past most defenders in isolation and attack the basket with explosiveness. He is quick and can go side-to-side to force the opponent off balance, but when these defenders have managed to keep him in front or forced him to the side of the basket, Simmons has attempted awkward-looking floaters and short-range toss-ups with his right hand, instead of stepping-back and pulling-up from the in-between area.

In fact, despite having a strong preference for going left (his strong hand), Simmons more often than not attempts finishing with his right hand. As explained by SI’s Luke Winn, Simmons feels he can draw more fouls that way, as his large frame invites contact.

He’s been correct so far. Simmons is averaging 7.7 free throws per 40 minutes, with a quarter of his points on the season coming from the charity stripe. Simmons has converted 73 percent of his foul shots so far, appearing to be more comfortable with his mechanics, which leaves reason to believe that he will one day develop into a passable jump-shooter.

As a live-ball finisher, I think Simmons’ touch is only OK on those off-balance driving semi-layups. It feels like he leaves a lot of and-one opportunities on the table. He is also so-so from the post, where he’s almost always looking for a turnaround, right-handed jump-hook after a couple of bumps with the opponent or a face-up drive. Since he isn’t the sort of player who looks to get physical on power moves and the turnaround, his jump-shot isn’t an option at all, either.

But whenever Quarterman or Josh Gray have created something in the half-court on their own, Simmons has proven to have good hands to catch the ball on the move via cuts or diving down the lane out of the pick-and-roll. Though he has blown some easy lay-ins at the rim, it’s hard to argue with his 76 percent shooting on 75 attempts at the basket so far. Despite not always relying on his explosiveness, Simmons has flashed the ability to finish with power, leaping out of one foot or two feet, best seen in transition where he excels.

Simmons is terrific on grab-and-go’s, collecting the defensive board and sprinting up the court to ignite the offense. He can then feed a runout with an on the money outlet pass, run the lane and play above the rim as a target for lobs, pass ahead and then receive back on the secondary break to attack a scrambling defense or change gears in the open court and blow by everyone to finish at the rim.

REBOUNDING

Those open court runs are fueled by Simmons’ prolificacy on the defensive glass, where he has collected 28.4 percent of opponents’ misses. Some of it is due to positioning – Simmons plays center quite a bit, always spotted close to the rim, on lineups where his tallest teammate is 6-6. But he has also shown some improvement from high school in this skill, as he used to rely on Noah Dickerson’s boxout prowess at Montverde, while at LSU he’s been more disciplined looking to put his body on an opponent.

Perhaps more impressive has been his impact on the offensive glass. Simmons doesn’t have a particularly long wingspan (7-0) to rebound outside of his area, but he is a quick leaper, flashing “second jump-ability” to fight for tipped balls around the basket. He has collected almost 12 percent of LSU’s misses, which is more impressive than it sounds when you consider he’s the triggerman of the offense and isn’t often parked below the rim just waiting to go after a miss.

DEFENSE

The biggest gap in Simmons’ skill-set is his defense — at least, the way he’s been asked to play in college hasn’t been effective.

As mentioned above, Simmons has often played center and as such, he has displayed an ineptitude to protect the interior. He has played poor help defense, often failing to provide adequate help and even avoiding stepping into the front of the rim to challenge a driver in order not to risk picking up a foul. His pick-and-roll defense as a big man has also been soft, as he hasn’t put a lot of effort into contesting mid-range jump-shots.

Maybe Simmons has been coached to keep himself out of foul trouble. That sure seems the case because Simmons has put in the effort in situations where the play comes to him, flashing a willingness to draw charges and block shots (15 blocks in 11 games) when he finds himself well positioned. Alternatively, it might simply be that a 19-year-old is choosing to be selective with his effort.

But even performing at peak effort, there’s concern regarding how impactful a player Simmons can be on defense as a big due to his physical profile. He struggled to contest turnaround shots by the likes of Henry Ellenson, Luke Fischer and DeMarcus Daniels because of his lack of elite length for a big man. His 7-0 wingspan isn’t much in the context of his 6-10 height.

His length is a lot more impactful when Simmons has contested shots by smaller players in the perimeter, though. Generally speaking, he has always been a more effective defender as a perimeter player. Simmons impressed those who saw him defend actual point guards at the Adidas Nations and worked hard to navigate over picks at the Nike Hoop Summit. He showed nice lateral quickness to stay in front of Ellenson and Cody Martin when they took him off the dribble and was engaged in the game against North Florida, when LSU switched aggressively and he picked up the point of attack a couple of times — though no smaller guard from North Florida tried testing going around him.

Simmons is probably too big to go over screens against the pick-and-roll on a consistent basis, though, and would likely be manipulated out of the way by pro point guards with some ease. If a team were to try playing him as a point guard, it would probably need a Danny Green-, Iman Shumpert-, Avery Bradley-sort of wing who can defend point guards in his place full time. Simmons could be hidden on a weaker threat around the perimeter, and his length can become more of an asset helping shut down passing lanes.