Ben Simmons’ rocky path in the NBA began with the Brooklyn Nets. Even after being traded mid-season to the Los Angeles Clippers, his performance has remained largely stagnant, and it has shown little sign of improvement on the stat sheet.
Nevertheless, Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue is still determined to bring out the best in Simmons, even if it means pushing him to look for his own shot more often. In a recent media session, Lue didn’t shy away from admitting that he’s had to remind Simmons to be more assertive on offense.
“Yeah, we did. We talked about it the last couple of days, and today he was aggressive attacking the basket, playing with pace, getting to the rim, making the plays, finishing at the rim. We need him to be aggressive. The pace is great, but also look at the rim to be a scoring threat,” Lue said.
Me: “Do you have to remind Ben Simmons to look to score?”
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) April 16, 2025
Tyronn Lue: “Yeah, we did. We talked about it the last couple of days and today he was aggressive attacking the basket, playing with pace, getting to the rim, making the plays, finishing at the rim. We need him to be… pic.twitter.com/QQP8Rbo1tO
The Clippers managed to secure a postseason berth by finishing the regular season in the fifth seed of the West. Their reward is a challenging first-round playoff game against the Denver Nuggets.
Earlier in the season, Simmons appeared to be in a difficult spot with the Nets as he was facing intense criticism for his numbers. Now in Los Angeles, he’s adjusting to a supporting role behind superstars James Harden and Kawhi Leonard.
Tyronn Lue Details Unique Roles Of Ben Simmons And Batum In Small-Ball Lineups
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Coach Lue also compared Ben Simmons’ role to that of teammate Nicolas Batum, especially when used at the center position. The contrast, Lue noted, lies in each player’s unique impact on the floor.
“Ben’s ability to push the basketball in transition, make plays, get people easy shots. With Nico, if he’s at the 5, being able to stretch the floor. If Joker’s gonna blitz or in the drop, he has to recover back to Nico who can shoot the basketball, get to the next action, and try to move Joker around a little bit,” he said.
Simmons is far from the centerpiece of the Clippers’ offense. But his ability to defend, facilitate, and play with pace still offers value. In 18 appearances for the Clippers, Simmons has averaged just 2.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game.
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