Ben Simmons Fantasy Outlook Could Be Boosted by Doc Rivers' Comments

Ben Simmons is already an All-Star player for the Philadelphia 76ers, and there's little room for him to grow outside of improving his outside shooting. However, new head coach Doc Rivers plans on embracing Simmons' play-making abilities and feauturing him even more in that role, which could help boost Simmons' fantasy basketball outlook.

Doc Rivers, in addition to saying Ben Simmons had an "off-the-charts" practice today, said that he will be the team's "facilitator" this season. He might not specifically be called a point guard, but he should be the team's primary ball-handler.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) December 7, 2020

Ben Simmons Fantasy Basketball Outlook

Simmons earned his first All-NBA honors for his 2019-20 season, when he averaged 16.4 points, 8.0 assists and 7.8 rebounds per game.

Simmons' stat lines from the last three seasons look nearly identical. That's not a bad thing since he does put up great numbers all around, including three straight seasons with at least 1.4 steals per game, but there's little room for growth unless he can consistently hit outside shots.

Despite a lacking 3-point game, Simmons ranked 31st overall in fantasy points last season with 2,256.3 and was the eighth-best point guard (which is his position of eligibility) in terms of production.

Rivers' comments seem to indicate that Simmons could raise his assist numbers to 10.0 or even better, but the promise of improved outside shooting is what would really boost Simmons' fantasy potential.

He is still a top-30 pick and one of the best options to draft at PG, just know that he is more likely to produce around his career averages every night rather than truly explode.

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