Philadelphia 76ers: 5 things to look for down the stretch

3. Does Ben Simmons have another gear?

We all know the deal with Simmons by now. Some nights, he’s going to gallivant into the lane, finish strong, draw fouls, and make excellent passes in a way that can truly break defenses. Other times he’ll barely be visible to the naked eye, shying away from contact and in some cases avoiding the paint altogether. On occasion, you may get both sides of him on the same night. He’s one of the most unique, enigmatic, brilliant, and frustrating players in NBA history.

Also well-documented is his playoff viability, which has not been great. While his defense is world-class now, his offensive game is easy for good teams to plan against. I’m not even talking about the lack of a jumper; Simmons’ unwillingness to draw fouls, and his low free throw percentage when he does get to the line, will hold him back much more than the lack of a jump shot. Just think about it: why would Simmons’ man ever cover him out in space, when they know his best shot is at the rack?

And at close range, Simmons isn’t exactly lighting the world on fire either. He ranks in the middle of the pack when it comes to post up efficiency (45th percentile), bottom of the barrel as a pick-and-roll ball-handler (25th percentile), and only works in isolation approximately once per game (all figures per NBA.com). Even if those numbers improve over the next month, much of it will be difficult to legitimize given the constraints talked about earlier.

So what can Simmons do? Turning on that next gear full-time would be a good start. It’s not like conditioning has ever been an issue for the guy; he can clearly do it at a consistent level. Finishing out this regular season with a bang, similar to how he kicked ass at the end of his rookie year, would be an excellent stepping stone into the most important stretch of his career.