Philadelphia 76ers stars Ben Simmons and Jimmy Butler alternated defensive tasks on Toronto Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard in Game 1. Leonard didn't seem fazed whenever he was matched up with the Sixers' best defensive players as he unloaded 45 points, but Simmons seems satisfied with his defensive effort.
Per Sopan Deb of the New York Times, Simmons believes that he did a good job defending Leonard:
https://twitter.com/SopanDeb/status/1122325490705096704
Per William Lou of Yahoo Sports, Ben Simmons guarded Kawhi Leonard on 27 possessions where the latter dropped 10 points. Jimmy Butler, meanwhile, had 24 possessions against Leonard where he dropped 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
If we are to look at those statistics alone, Simmons did do a better job at defending Leonard than Butler. But the fact is Leonard dropped 45 points on them. He was 16-of-23 from the field or 69.3 percent, 3-of-7 from 3-point land and 10-of-11 from the free throw line.
From those numbers, the Sixers certainly have a lot of work to do. If Leonard's scoring outburst continues, then they have little chance at advancing to the next round. Simmons and Butler need to exert more effort in containing him. More so from Simmons who doesn't look bothered that an opposing player had a career-night at the expense of their championship dreams.
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