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Four of the five Philadelphia 76ers starters received new defensive assignments ahead of Game 2. Among them, Ben Simmons got Kawhi Leonard duty for the majority of the game.
Leonard scored a game-high 35 points in Monday's tilt, but the Toronto Raptors ultimately came up short, losing at home and bringing a 1-1 series to the next two games at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Leonard talked about the Sixers' effort defensively:
“They did a good job, honestly. Got to give them credit,” Leonard said, according to ESPN's Kevin Arnovitz. “[Simmons] is long.”
Simmons' defense has been up and down this season, but he has proven to be a strong defender when he zones into his job, which he did on Monday in hopes to slow down Leonard.
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The Raptors' shiftiness and high tempo would at times force Simmons to make split-second decisions, like picking whether sticking onto Leonard or guarding Pascal Siakam, who torched them for 29 points in Game 1.
If Siakam was parked in the corner, where he hit 42% of his 3-pointers in the regular season, Simmons would close the distance. But if he patrolled above the break, where he made only 26%, the second-year point forward would take his chances:
“I think Ben did a really good job on him, and we tried to have different looks at times where we doubled him, and we did,” said Sixers coach Brett Brown. “By and large, it was Ben's assignment, although other people inherited him if he got switched out or Ben was out of the game.”
The Sixers will have to innovate defensively even more, as this point of the series is often decided by coaching adjustments. If Simmons can execute like he did in Game 2, the Sixers will have a much better chance to come out of this series a winner.
