Adding Ben Simmons to this LA Clippers roster was a bit of a feel-good signing. That is to say, the Clippers wanted to take a chance on a guy who had just been waived, and it was nice to see someone as hampered by injuries over the course of their career as Simmons get another chance to prove they can still be a rotation player in the NBA.
But that's the thing — Ben Simmons is not adding enough to this Clippers team to justify playing him right now. In a high stakes playoff environment, he simply has not been enough of a game-changer. Ty Lue has already cut his minutes as this first round series has gone on, and he'll want to continue that trend, even more so if LA completes the 3-2 comeback and advances to play the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Sure, Simmons has shown some flashes of chemistry with James Harden. And his combination of a big physical frame on top of his unique skillset did certainly make him an asset for the final two months of the regular season. There were several moments he left the Intuit Dome crowd impressed.
With that in mind, we have to recognize that was in the regular season, and the playoffs are a different animal.
Simmons isn't effective enough to play him in the playoffs
There have been flashes where Simmons looks like he can really be a difference-maker, I'll admit. Toward the end of the first quarter of Game 4, he took Nikola Jokic one-on-one and forced him to give the ball up, then proceeded to flawlessly switch onto Jalen Pickett. His contest at the end of the possession forced a Denver turnover.
It's those moments that continue to give Clippers fans hope. But those stretches of course don't tell the whole story, and it wasn't a great defensive game as a whole for Simmons. Then, on the flip side, Ben will remind us why Lue has been playing him less.
Look no further than the first quarter of Game 5. Simmons took Jokic off the dribble and moved him out of the way just a bit. When he turned around and attempted a hook shot, the ball sailed right over the rim and out of bounds.
At the end of the day, the level of defense Simmons has faced and will face in the playoffs is far too lethal to justify playing him. He's a non-scoring threat, and his defense is only going to get him so far. The Clippers have to sit him if they want to salvage a chance of going deep in this postseason.