simmons

[duncan2k5]

simmons can be a great 6th man, or even a starter, but he needs to stop worrying about pasing...he comes off the pick and roll too many times and thinks pass, when he is an above average finisher at the rim...these passes too many times leads to turnovers because defenses dont expect him to shoot, and he forces these passes too. if you build the reputation as an attacker, because currently the defense doesnt swarm around him when he drives because they bait him into passing...and PLEASE shoot your open threes...it destroys the offense when you continually drive into the traffic...for goodness sakes you are open!

[still.focused]

If you havent noticed yet, he cant shoot.

[MI21]

It would be great if Simmons could get the opportunity to break the defense down while it is scrambling after a teammates penetration. As the lead handler on the pick n roll, it's either a homerun or a turnover.

[jermaine]

He was at the 3pt line with no one within 10ft.... this drive to the lane an tried to force a pass to Lee an it went out of bounds. We didn't lose poss, but it was the fact he passed up a wide open 3... He must don't understand Pop will sit you quicker for passing up open 3 verses missing them.

[GSH]

No point in re-typing what I said in the game grade thread. Simmons currently has the worst 3P% on the team. He's only made 1 since the opener against GS. I'm not so sure you want him taking those shots right now.

I'm going to defend Simmons a little. For those who weren't watching him closely - Simmons actually had a fairly decent game.

He played well in the second quarter. The Mavs went on that run right before the half, but that wasn't on him. Fathead turned the ball over twice, Patty once, and Lee fouled a 3P shooter. None of that was on Simmons. Also, Carlisle put Bogut back into the game, and his size just gave Lee . His +/- got hammered during that 2 minute stretch, but Simmons easily held up his end of the bargain over that time.

Pop went with Simmons in a critical stretch in the 4th quarter, when the Spurs finally took back the lead. He didn't do the scoring, but during the 5 1/2 minutes he was in the game, the Mavs only scored 4 points. And that was before Patty's 3P barrage. The Spurs got over the deficit hump in the 4th by playing defense, and Simmons was a part of that group. I'm not saying he was a single-handed defensive stopper, but he sure wasn't a liability.

I don't know what's going on with Simmons' 3P shooting. He's only made 1 since that first game. I don't know if Pop instructed him to drive and kick more, or if he's not taking them because he's not making them. But if Pop was really mad because he's passed up some open 3's (as some people claim), I don't think he would be getting so many minutes. Personally, I think he's doing mostly what Pop wants him to do right now - not that anybody ever knows what Pop is thinking. What I do know is that on a Per-36 basis, he's getting to the FT line more often than anyone other than Kawhi and LMA. And he's dishing out assists at about the same rate as Manu, behind only Parker and Mills.

I'm not saying Simmons should be a starter. But if he can add just a little more offensive punch, I think he'd be doing all that could be expected of him at this point. At the very least, I wouldn't have given him a lower grade than Anderson.

[Joseph Kony]

Simmons has game but did is a giant vagina on the court imo, his confidence is easily rattled and when he makes mistakes, he's not like Manu who will try to make up for it, he hangs his head and becomes even more passive. Simmons would be a very good backup SG if he played with the same fire and intensity every night and stopped worrying so much. dude just has confidence issues imo