NBA | Sixers will be just fine ... as long as Simmons is the main point man

Ben Simmons, taken No. 1 by the 76ers in the 2016 NBA Draft, is a special talent whose skill set defies what most believe a 6-10 guy can do on a court.

By Jack Kerwin  |  ydkjack1@gmail.com

It’s gonna be an issue.

Like it or not, it is.

Cutting through all the kumbaya craziness flowing freely through Sixers Nation to justify “trusting the process” for all eternity it seems anymore, the reality is, the latest and greatest of the largely unjustified propaganda doesn’t wash.

At all.

Sorry. Like the fact the organization is making some moves, even taking chances in the process, and actually love the positive vibe that appears to be enveloping one of the most pessimistic fan bases on the planet – hello, Philly – but, you know, c’mon …

Markelle Fultz is a perfect fit with Ben Simmons?

They’ll mesh better than two love-struck teens in heat?

Not for nothing, but does anyone out there believing, if not stating, such silliness, understand the concept of ball distribution, or have the slightest clue as to what either of these two guys bring to the table as players?

Didn’t think so …

Look, they’re both talented guys. Simmons a lot more so, but, hey, get it, Fultz is the flavor of the moment these days because he’s the new kid on the block. The shiny new addition to the team’s suddenly burgeoning roster of skilled young players. So, he’s “the guy” on the minds of most when they let the mind wander as to what wondrous things may happen in the near future.

But, thing is, they’re not a match – by any stretch. Unless, that’s UNLESS, one of them is willing to accept a different role.

Preferably Fultz if anyone is directing a query on the topic this way.

Yo, the kid has serious flash to his game and plays with an instinctive, “mentally one step ahead” way that makes him seem far more athletic than he is, but he ain’t Simmons. Ain’t even close.

Especially as a point guard.

Throw out your long-standing, set-in-stone beliefs that positions are suited best for certain sizes. At 6-10, Simmons handles the ball and passes it in a way that few can, Fultz included. He runs the floor in a flash. He sees the floor with the vision of an artist staring at a blank canvas, able to create something special, if not beautiful, regardless of options or obstacles.

He is a facilitator of the first order.

Fultz, frankly, is not. Even at 6-3. He’s a scorer, first and foremost.

Both are proclaimed point guards. Only one truly is, and that’s Simmons, and he knows it, as evidenced by his statements that made print this week to that effect.

Yeah, the two probably could coexist in a starting five … if Simmons rolled as the 1 and Fultz the 2.

Forget the concerns about how each matches up position wise on defense. Totally silly. Nothing set in stone that playing the point on offense means you have to guard the point at the other end. Heck, Simmons, with his size, may be asked to handle power forwards and centers at times then.

Fultz, who is nowhere near the defender Simmons is, on any position, is going to be guarding either a 1 or 2. That’s just how it will be, and all he can handle.

But that would work, even if sharpshooting free-agent signee J.J. Redick joins them for tip-offs. He’ll be the same as Fultz, handling a guard on defense. Perhaps a smaller wing at times since he is taller and more, as A.I. might say, “swole up” than Fultz – hence, more equipped to handle bigger players.

Put it this way, Simmons running the point, Fultz at shooting guard and Redick at the 3 on offense makes sense, especially if the Sixers hope to bolster their efficiency with putting the ball in the basket. Then those three would cover the 3, 1 and 2, respectively, at the other end.

Take Simmons off as the main point, though, and the process gets derailed. That is the danger with drafting Fultz, if it leads to that.

Maybe not as confusing as pairing the league’s top two point guards in the same backcourt as Houston has done now with Chris Paul joining James Harden, but, still, not exactly a perfect fit.

It’s an issue … unless Fultz doesn’t fight Simmons for the proverbial keys to the car.

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Throw out your long-standing, set-in-stone beliefs that positions are suited best for certain sizes. At 6-10, Simmons handles the ball and passes it in a way that few can, Fultz included. He runs the floor in a flash. He sees the floor with the vision of an artist staring at a blank canvas, able to create something special, if not beautiful, regardless of options or obstacles. He is a facilitator of the first order. Fultz, frankly, is not. Even at 6-3. He’s a scorer, first and foremost.

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