Sixers president Bryan Colangelo confident Ben Simmons can guard NBA point guards
The 6-foot-10 top pick will have to defend against smaller players.
Hall of Famer Magic Johnson and Penny Hardaway are on the short list of towering point guards with successful NBA careers.
And at 6-foot-10, Ben Simmons is taller than the 6-9 Johnson and 6-7 Hardaway.
"And the good news is that we're going to find out soon whether or not he's capable of doing it," 76ers president Bryan Colangelo recently said of Simmons' transitioning to point guard.
One of the biggest concerns is Simmons' ability to defend against smaller point guards.
Colangelo doesn't anticipate that being a problem for the 2016 first overall pick, who missed the entire season after surgery to repair a Jones fracture in his right foot.
"I think Ben will show you that he can guard most point guards in this league," he said.
Colangelo believes the former power forward will provide resistance with his long wingspan, wide base, and quick feet.
"He'll be able to do it," Colangelo said. "It's just learning the angle, learning the personnel, learning their tendencies. But he's been doing a lot of film study. So he'll probably have a leg up on a lot of that."
The Sixers believe Simmons himself will become a matchup problem for smaller defenders. His presence might force opponents to assign post players to guard him. He is athletic for someone his size, so the hope is that he will create matchup problems for power forwards. He would also be able to back down and post up smaller defenders.
Sixers coach Brett Brown said earlier that Simmons would defend non-point guards. He probably would line up against small forwards and power forwards. That still appears to be the likely scenario if he does struggle keeping point guards in front of him.
But having the ball in his hands will be nothing new.
At Louisiana State, Simmons would grab a defensive rebound, lead the fastbreak, and initiate the offense in certain situations. He was a locomotive that could pass and handle the ball.
The 20-year-old averaged 19.2 points, 11.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 2.0 steals in his lone season at LSU.
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