Ben Simmons Hype or Reality?

I agree you gotta give Mitchell the ROTY at this point. I think the only real argument for simmons backers was the fact that Mitchell wasnt the best passer in the regular season but people need to understand that Rubio was the true pg on that team while Mitchell was more of a 2. Looking at the last 2 games you can obviously see Mitchells ability to get the ball to his teammates, hes the clear cut winner in my book idc if he wins or not 

You said one thing I agree with.

"I could be wrong."

You do realize he is a rookie. Sure, he's a "redshirt" rookie but he's a rookie none the less. There have been plenty of rookies that can shoot. I can remember a rookie who after one year at Syracuse, and a National Title, entered the league. He was 6'88". He was a pure scorer. And boy could he shoot. His name was Carmelo Anthony.

What makes Ben Simmons special is the fact that he's a 6'10+ point guard with freakish court vision coupled with an innate ability to distribute the ball. It's he same thing that made a young Magic Johnson special, who could not shoot. It's the same thing that made a young Lebron James special, who could not shoot. I get it that in today's league everyone is in love with jumpshots but there are other parts of the game. I'll take a 6'10" Magic Johnson level true point, who can facilitate, rebound, and has the defensive upside of being a 6'10" guard, any day. Especially in a league who's recent love affair with shooting can only be matched by it's recent love affair with height and length, i'll take the guy who has the one you can't teach.

Look, if the true intention of this thread is to say Donovan Mitchell and Jason Tatum have emerged as better rookies, I won't argue. Now if you're really trying to argue that Simmons is all hype because he doesn't have a jumpshot then i'll say you're crazy. You're just a prisoner of the moment.

And a sidenote on Mitchell and Tatum. Not enough can be said for the teams they are on and the coaches of said teams. I'm sick and tired of hearing talking heads say, "the Cleveland Browns passed up on Carson Wentz", as if Wentz would have been Wentz on the Browns. Tatum and Mitchell both went to teams who were in the playoffs last year, who have top 5 coaches, and perfect mixes of young and veteran talent. Simmons went to a rebuilding "process" which is essentially him, Embiid, and shooters. And they're in the 2nd round of the playoffs. Let's wait or so before we say he's "hype".

I would say Ben Simmons can shoot if you want fg%'s. He cant shoot 3's and doesnt attempt them. I dont care whether he develops a 20 foot jumper or not as long as he can shoot a 54% clip...I'm ok with that and with good reason because the greats before him didnt do much better.

Comparing his fg% with some greats before his time.

Shaq shooting almost everything with 5 feet comes in at: 58.2%

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/o/onealsh01.html

Chamberlain who probably dunked most of his shots comes in shooting 54%

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/chambwi01.html

Jordan probably one of the best jump shooters ever at 49.7%

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/jordami01.html

Jabaar...everything close with no contested sky hooks comes in at 55.9%

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/a/abdulka01.html

Karl Malone....51.6%

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/malonka01.html

and Ben Simmons who "cant" shoot comes in at: 54.5%

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/simmobe01.html

Simmons is Jason Kidd 2.0

the league is littered with great rookie talent, who spend their entire careers working on specific improvements where needed...his shooting skills will always be a worry until he fixes the issues.

if McConnell played the 4th Q we most likely have a series tied at 1...he almost singlehandedly turned a 4 pt deficit heading into the 4th Q, into a 3 pt lead in a matter of minutes, then coach Brown yanks him in favor of Simmons and the rest is history, Philly never smells victory again with McConnell on the bench...obviously one is a role bench guy and the other is supposedly your franchise pg for the decade, however Brown really has looked like an amateur yesterday, not calling timeouts when needed in the 2nd Q epic Boston run, and then choosing to ride an ice cold Simmons rather than ride the hot hand of McConnell who had the team clicking on all cylinders.

the future of Simmons in this league could be somewhat in jeopardy if other teams piggyback on this new blueprint Coach Stevens has perfectly laid out regarding taking Simmons out of his element.

it's one thing to go off and be a wonderkid in the regular season when you catch teams playing just another game out of a 82 game schedule, it's a whole new ball game when you're matching up in a playoff series where the teams can pick your tendencies apart and game plan fully just for one key guy like Boston is doing to Simmons.

History is always 20/20 with hindsight, yes Simmons will indeed with ROY based on regular season play, partly due to the media hype and love for him, east coast biases, more eyeballs watching Philly games over Utah games, but unquestionably as of this moment, Mitchell is the best rook in the league no question about it, with Simmons 2nd, and Tatum a very close 3rd in a photofinish with Simmons.

I like how you wait until Simmons has an awful game to make this thread. Also Philly 2 losses and a jazz win. Using recency bias to get ppl on your side. I had this argument before the playoffs started and Mitchell has my roy vote but not because of 1 game. LeBron didnt have much of a jumper his rookie year either. Dude shot 41% and 29% from 3. Look at him now. Simmons has plenty of time to develop a jumpshot and when he does he'll be the better player. You're using 1 game, with your TJ MCONNELL garbage, as your sample size. Like Simmons hasn't been the driving force on this team for this playoff push.

Give the Boston D some credit too, they're going under every screen and forcing him out of the paint. You're knocking Simmons for struggling against a good defense but we haven't even seen Mitchell play against a good defense. Unless you think the thunder and rockets play great defense you dont have a true comparison and you're just biased based on what you've seen in the past 3 days 

You guys sound ridiculous. Ben Simmons is a rookie. He, along with Embiid, willed his team to the playoffs. You sound like Donovan Mitchell isn't getting his just due. Everyone is in love with Mitchell. You act like your trumpeting the arrival of some sleeper. If you're simply aiming to say Mitchell should be Rookie of the Year, you could've saved yourself some typing. I think most would agree. If you're trying to say Ben Simmons is all hype, or overrated, or any other negative superlatives, you're just wrong. I can't believe someone had the nerve to say, "Am I the only one seeing this?" about Donovan Mitchell. Where was this thread 4 months ago?