Ben Simmons has been playing a lot of Call of Duty amid the NBA’s indefinite suspension.
Last night, on his stream, he was playing live as he talked with his buddies about ball. As one might guess, he had some interesting things to say about his fellow peers, starting with James Harden.
(via Adam Hermann of NBC Sports Philadelphia)
“Yo, here’s the one thing. I’ve got something to say. Everyone talks on James’ D, but he can play D,” said Simmons. “I don’t think y’all understand how strong that dude is. He’s a strong guy. A lot of people listen to analytics and stuff, it makes no sense. Analytically? You can’t always look at numbers, man.”
He went on to list off some additional defensive experts.
“I look at AD and I think he’s a better defender than Gobert, because he can defend guards at times,” Simmons explained his reasoning. “Look, I play ball, I’m looking at guys who can guard 1 through 5, man. … You can’t say you’re one of the best defenders if you’re not guarding every position.”
He also included himself, Pat Beverley, Kawhi, and Joel Embiid.
“You know what, Joel (Embiid). I’m trippin.”
All-in-all, his top five includes Pat, Kawhi, himself, Anthony Davis, and his teammate Joel Embiid — with a special shoutout to James Harden, Jimmy Butler, Marcus Smart, and Bam Adebayo. It was interesting to hear Butler’s comments on the whole thing, especially about James Harden, who apparently isn’t as bad a defender as we all think.
