Anfernee Simons sits at the center of a pretty simple equation for the Philadelphia 76ers: make shots, and he can be a real answer to one of their biggest problems. Miss them, and his name could start surfacing in trade chatter.
Philadelphia’s issue is already loud enough. The Sixers have been one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the league so far this season, and Sunday night’s loss to the Detroit Pistons was a clean example of why that matters. Philly struggled from deep, Detroit - with Duncan Robinson leading the way - made its looks, and the Pistons left with the win.
Simons wasn’t efficient in that game, but the loss wasn’t on him alone. Even so, his value to the Sixers is obvious when he’s humming. At his best, he is one of the league’s better three-point shooters, dangerous both when he’s running off the ball and when he’s creating his own shot with the ball in his hands.
That’s exactly the kind of weapon Philly needs. The Sixers need Simons to stretch the floor whenever he’s out there and force defenses to stay honest around their stars.
That matters because the roster doesn’t exactly overflow with snipers. LeBron James isn’t a great shooter.
Neither is Jaylen Brown. Nor Joel Embiid.
Tyrese Maxey can really shoot it, but he’ll have the ball a lot. VJ Edgecombe is still improving.
The numbers tell the story, too. Philadelphia is shooting just 31.7% from deep this season.
If that level of accuracy hangs around for the full year, it would be a problem. The Sixers can still win without a barrage of threes, but it makes everything harder.
There’s another layer here, though: money. Simons is making $6 million this season, which is the sixth-most on the Sixers roster for a non-star type of player. That makes him a practical trade chip if Philadelphia needs salary matching at the deadline.
So Simons has two paths in front of him. If he’s hitting shots, he can help solve the Sixers’ three-point issue. If he isn’t, he could wind up as one of the more obvious names floating around the trade market.
In Other News...
Kelly Oubre Is Giving Sixers Fans A Familiar Feeling In Indiana
Kelly Oubre Jr. landed in Indiana on a two-year contract hoping for a fresh start, but his first two games have looked awfully familiar to anyone who watched him in Philadelphia. He has averaged 3.5 points, two rebounds and 2.5 assists while struggling badly from the field and beyond the arc, a rough opening that has already put his shot selection and rhythm back under the microscope.
For Sixers fans, the early returns may feel like dj vu because the same outside-shooting issues followed Oubre through three seasons in Philadelphia, where he hit just 32 percent from three. If that trend keeps up with the Pacers, his fit there could become a much tougher sell, and his value may shrink as Indiana tries to sort out where he fits in the rotation. [Read more 🡒]
Joel Embiid May Have Found What Unlocks The 76ers Offense
Joel Embiids offensive role has shifted in a way that could matter a great deal for the 76ers, especially as Nick Nurse keeps looking for cleaner ways to organize the attack. Instead of living almost entirely as a finisher on the block, Embiid has been used more at the top of the key and in the high post, where he can see the floor and set up teammates. The result has been a more varied offense, with Embiid averaging a career-high 5.7 assists per game while taking fewer shot attempts.
The change has also given Philadelphia a different kind of fallback when the offense bogs down. Embiid handled primary playmaking duties in a recent game in which LeBron James was out, and he responded with a triple-double, a reminder that his value does not have to come only from scoring. For the 76ers, the real question is whether this expanded role can keep unlocking the same kind of balance when the games get tighter and the defensive attention gets heavier. [Read more 🡒]
Jaylen Brown Drama Is Giving 76ers Fans A New Reason To Watch Boston
Boston drama has a way of lingering well beyond the Celtics own fan base, and this latest round around Jaylen Brown has given 76ers followers another reason to keep one eye on their biggest rival. Brian Scalabrine, speaking on his Sirius XM show, said Brown reportedly wanted a trade out of Boston and had interest in Milwaukee, adding another layer to the long-running conversation about the Celtics locker room and the uneasy balance between Brown and Jayson Tatum.
For Philadelphia fans, the intrigue is less about confirming the rumor and more about what it says about a team the Sixers may still have to measure themselves against in the East. There has been plenty of outside chatter about competitive tension inside Boston, but no official statement has backed up a trade request, which leaves the whole thing in the realm of speculation for now. Even so, any hint of friction in Celtic land is the sort of storyline that tends to keep the scoreboard-watching a little more interesting in Philly. [Read more 🡒]