Will Ben Simmons earn first-team All-NBA defensive team honors? | Off the Dribble

By all accounts, albeit coming from the 76ers training camp at Walt Disney World near Orlando, things has gone well. According to Josh Richardson things have gotten chippy a few times at practice as players are not only getting back in shape, but many are battling for minutes.

The Sixers are 39-26 and currently occupy the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference. It was a disappointing first 65 games, which is why the Sixers are only looking ahead.

Yet there is one instance where the team would be interested in looking back - at regular-season awards and specifically whether Ben Simmons will earn all-NBA defensive first-team honors.

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— Marc Narducci (offthedribble@inquirer.com)

On Friday, the NBA notified teams that none of the eight seeding games will be taken in consideration for any postseason award, according to the Associated Press. The voting for these awards, done by the media, will take place before the July 30 restart of the season.

All season, coach Brett Brown has touted Simmons as a defensive player of the year candidate and a definite first-team all-defensive team selection.

Defensive player of the year appears to be among three big men -- center Rudy Gobert, the two-time reigning award winner; forward-center Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers; and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo. It’s very likely that this is the first-team front court, which means Simmons will be battling a number of guards.

The 6-foot-10 Simmons leads the NBA in steals per game (2.1). He is also 13th in the NBA and second among guards in defensive win shares (3.2) according to basketball-reference.com. Defensive win shares is an estimate number of wins contributed by a player due to his defense. Simmons is also third in the NBA in steal percentage (2.9). This is an estimate of the percentage of opponent possessions that end with a steal by the player while he was on the floor. Two other guards are ahead of him. Chicago’s Kris Dunn is first (3.8) and San Antonio’s DeJounte Murry is second (3.3).

Simmons is versatile enough to defend several positions. He appeared in 54 of the Sixers’ 65 games, missing the final eight with a pinched nerve in his lower back.

His biggest competition for first-team among guards could be last year’s two first-team choices, Marcus Smart of Boston and Eric Bledsoe of Milwaukee. Smart also missed 11 games, playing in 53 of 64 for the Celtics. Bledsoe has appeared in 56 of Milwaukee’s 65 games.

Last year Simmons received just two second-place votes (worth one point apiece).

He will receive much more this time around and the only question is will he have enough to earn a first-team spot.

The Sixers have generated plenty of optimism during the NBA restart and we ask is the hype warranted?

Keith Pompey writes that Brett Brown believes Ben Simmons can make a greater impact for the Sixers at power forward.

Among the issues that Pompey addresses in his latest Sixers mailbag is Simmons’ move to power forward and the new-look starting lineup.

Rookie Matisse Thybulle has been a major defensive presence at Sixers camp.

David Murphy writes that if Simmons ends up at power forward, the Sixers still need to find this year’s Jimmy Butler

Everybody knows that Simmons is a great passer. This season he is averaging 8.2 assists per game. The other day rookie center Norvel Pelle talked about a big assist he has received from Simmons off the court.

It seems that Simmons has emerged as the Sixers’ top fisherman.

Not only has Simmons spent some free time in Florida fishing, but he has passed his passion on to teammates, including Pelle.

“Ben has introduced me to fishing so I have been fishing,” Pelle said last week. “So I feel like this is my new hobby.”

Pelle says he was surprised to see how skilled Simmons was with a fishing rod..

“I would have never guessed he would be this good at fishing,” Pelle said.

Pelle himself has enjoyed some early success.

“I have caught two (fish) so far,” he said proudly.

Friday: Sixers vs. Memphis Grizzlies (scrimmage) at The Arena, 3:30 p.m.

Sunday: Sixers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (scrimmage) at HP Fieldhouse, noon

July 28: Sixers vs. Dallas Mavericks (scrimmage) at HP Fieldhouse, 8:30 p.m.

Aug. 1: Sixers vs. Indiana Pacers at Visa Athletic Center, 7 p.m.

Aug. 3: San Antonio Spurs vs. Sixers at Visa Athletic Center, 8 p.m.

All of the events are at Walt Disney World.

Question: Where does Al Horford fit in and can he help the Sixers? – James Lang

Answer: Excellent question, James. The other day Brett Brown said that he didn’t have a minutes plan yet for Horford. Besides backing up Joel Embiid, I still think Horford will get some minutes alongside the three-time All-Star. And I feel that Horford can be a contributor to the Sixers.

Horford didn’t start three games this season and returned to the lineup the game after Simmons injured his back during a 119-98 loss in Milwaukee. In the three games that Horford didn’t start he averaged 23.7 minutes. Overall this season he is averaging 30.8 minutes.

So there is no doubt his minutes will remain down if he is with the reserves as expected. Brown mentioned the other day that even though Simmons has moved to power forward, he is still playing point guard in practice with a group that includes Horford, Tobias Harris, Furkan Korkmaz and Matisse Thybulle. Horford could likely see his most time with this unit.

Brown also said that he would like to play Embiid up to 38 minutes a game in the postseason, although the Sixers coach did admit that could be ambitious and we agree. Still, Embiid should play more in the postseason than the regular season (30.2 mpg.) so that should cut into Horford’s time.

I see Horford in the 20-24 minute range and at 34, that may not be a bad thing. The key to playing more will be meshing with Embiid. When the two have been on the court together the Sixers have been outscored by 1.6 points per 100 possessions, according to basketball-reference.com.

If there is better chemistry, it could mean more time on the court for Horford but even in a diminished role, he can help with his rebounding, defense (especially at center) and veteran savvy.