An aggressive Ben Simmons is the best Ben Simmons.
In Monday’s 117-111 win over the Brooklyn Nets, Simmons tied a career-high in points with 34 to go along with 12 rebounds, 12 assists and five steals. It was his fourth triple-double of the season.
From the moment the game started Simmons was aggressive attacking the basket and didn’t let up at any point. It was without a doubt the best game of his young career and showed exactly why the Sixers extended Simmons to a five-year $170 million contract this past offseason.
“He just peppered the stat sheet all over the place,” head coach Brett Brown said to the media. “But what I see is his spirit, his body language, his facial expressions. They reeked of ‘We’re going to win, and you guys hang on to me and I will carry you.’ And I felt like he did that in many, many ways.”
His desire to win and the effort he shows trying to accomplish that goal sets a good example for the rest of the team.
“I think Ben’s energy, honestly, is just contagious,” Al Horford said after the game. “I think that the level that he was playing — that kind of All-NBA type, taking over the game — I just think it really rubbed off on all of us and we just stepped our game up and played free and played hard.”
Simmons is on a tear
Even before the Brooklyn game, Simmons was riding a hot streak.
Simmons averaged 21.3 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 7.3 assists in four games least week. He helped lead the team to a 3-1 record in those games, all without Joel Embiid.
During the game against the Nets, the NBA announced Simmons earned the Conference Player of the Week award.
“I would have given him that just for the second half of this game,” Brown said about Simmons earning Player of the Week.
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