With the NBA 2020-21 season about the kickoff, Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers is still discovering new things about his players. From a distance, Rivers was already aware of Ben Simmons' speed, but now that he's coaching the Australian, he was caught off guard by his ability to turn his speed several notches up.
Standing 6-foot-10, Simmons has the size of a big man but the handles, quickness and vision of a guard. This has been his main asset ever since. Rivers, who took on the Sixers' head coaching post in October, was surprised that Ben has another gear up his sleeve.
“I would say I knew he had speed, but I didn’t know he had the afterburners,” the Sixers coach laughed, per Ky Carlin of USA Today. “I guess when he puts his speed on, it’s unbelievable how fast he is. I guess the biggest surprise is I knew he was a good on-ball defender, I didn’t know he had the instincts off-ball that he has and that’s a very good surprise.”
While Doc Rivers is amazed at Ben Simmons' ability, it doesn't mean that he'll be infatuated by it all season long. Doc already has a firm plan on how to utilize the guard's unique ability.
“There’s a lot of times Joel gets the rebound, outlets it to Ben, Ben shouldn’t wait. If Ben can get it downhill, we want him going downhill. Going downhill doesn’t necessarily mean ‘shoot the ball’, it means ‘create a play,” Rivers furthered.
The Sixers will have their first game of the 2020-21 NBA season on Wednesday against the Washington Wizards.
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