Triple-Double Watch Week 23: Simmons gets tenth, Harden, Griffin, Lowry move up

CLEVELAND, OH - MARCH 1: Ben Simmons #25 of the Philadelphia 76ers and LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers talk after the game on March 1, 2018 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Welcome to Triple-Double Watch, a weekly check-in on everyone’s favorite arbitrary milestone of round, base-ten numbers.

Ben Simmons nabbed his tenth triple-double as he makes his case for Rookie of the Year honors. In fact, he would have had two more this week but didn’t get to double-digit points. The red-hot 76ers, winners of seven straight, moved into fourth place in the East behind his strong play.

The multi-faceted phenom point-forward draws similarities to LeBron James. Sure, James was more of a scorer and could shoot better when he was Simmons’ age, but the do-it-all comparison is apt. They both have a next-level grasp of the game and make their impact felt across the board. Simmons’ effect on Philadelphia is immense despite his limited scoring ability, so the possibility of him developing a semi-reliable jumper is a scary prospect.

We didn’t get appearances from our mainstays, James and Russell Westbrook. However, James is essentially averaging a triple-double in March and Westbrook is 0.3 rebounds off from averaging it for the entire season. While those two staples took a week off, we had a handful of repeat customers.

Kyle Lowry’s 25-10-12 triple-double — his third this year, the most he’s compiled in any one season –=00 took honors for the highest score of the five this week with 53. Thus far in 2017-18, the average TDS (the very rudimentary metric I made) is 52.2.

James Harden euro-stepped his way into sole possession of fifth-place on the season leaderboard. He only needed three quarters against the Hawks to put up his fourth triple-double of the year. Houston owns the NBA’s best record and is well on its way to secure the top overall seed for the playoffs.

Blake Griffin got his first triple-double with Detroit and first since late January. The Pistons turned into a smoldering dumpster since making their all-in trade, but Griffin showing off his versatile prowess is nice, I guess? Only five games back of the No. 8 seed with 10 games left. It’s in play!

Next: Dario Saric and Robert Covington make the 76ers hum

D’Angelo Russell has shown flashes during an injury-riddled year, amid an overall disappointing season for Brooklyn. This past Friday, Russell posted the first triple-double of his career, albeit in a losing effort against Toronto. As the season winds down over the next few weeks, Russell’s production (or lack thereof) could give the Nets a better idea of what his future holds.

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