James Ennis establishing himself in bench role
Feb 8, 2019; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward James Ennis (11) drives against the Denver Nuggets during the third quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
James Ennis or Jonathon Simmons?
This has been one of the Sixers’ biggest pick-your-poison’s of the season. When the two joined the team at the trade deadline, it signaled help was on its way to a talent starved bench. Unfortunately, that help has been slow to arrive as both Ennis and Simmons have struggled to establish themselves in the Sixers’ rotation.
Ennis and Simmons each have a -0.1 VORP in eleven games with the Sixers.
However, Ennis seems to be taking over the reserve role as of late. He’s played at least 14 minutes over the last five games, including a start against the Cleveland Cavaliers in place of a resting Jimmy Butler. Meanwhile, Simmons has played just 24 minutes total over the last five games.
Taking a look at the numbers, it’s hard to separate Ennis and Simmons. Since joining the Sixers, Ennis is averaging 4.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.6 assists, while shooting 21% from three on 1.7 attempts per game – he previously shot 37% from three on three attempts a game with Houston – meanwhile Simmons is averaging 3.7 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists, and shooting 33% from three on 1.1 attempts per game. That’s a whole lot of nothing worth writing home about.
One of the biggest areas Ennis has separated himself from Simmons is on the offensive end because Simmons has been terrible. Although he plays well on the defensive, it seems almost any time Simmons has the ball, he tries to do too much with it, either forcing a shot or dribbling out a possession. Simmons has a 14.8 usage rate and a 15.5 turnover percentage with the Sixers, which screams, “I’m trying too hard!!!”
Ennis on the other hand, while the stats don’t really jump off the page, is passing the eye test. After their recent game against the Cavs, per Reina Kern, JJ Redick said, “I didn’t know he was as good of an offensive rebounder as he is and he’s made some spectacular plays at the rim, hitting the glass.” Ennis is averaging just 1.4 offensive rebounds per game with the Sixers, but has a 10.3 offensive rebounding percentage as well as some highlight reel plays off the offensive glass.
James Ennis with the monster outback dunk🔥
(Via @NBA). pic.twitter.com/H0x4tiaeXs
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) March 13, 2019
Simmons has played well on the defensive end of the court, but his -3.8 offensive plus/minus shows he’s been a drain on the Sixers’ offense; Simmons also has a -5.0 OnCourt plus/minus. Ennis may not be on par with Simmons in terms of defense, but his offensive plus/minus is nearly half the negative of Simmons at -2.1.
Ennis is a willing defender – his 0.2 defensive win shares are equal to Simmons’ with the Sixers – he is energetic on the offensive end, can create for himself and play off-ball, he’s currently shooting 100% on assisted three’s with the Sixers according to Basketball Reference. Ennis also shot 2-4 from three and helped close out the Sixers’ win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
He may not be the perfect player, but Ennis has proven he is enough of a positive for Brett Brown to trust late in games and could continue to improve outside of Houston’s three point heavy system. He should prove to be a key player as the Sixers’ rotation shrinks in preparation of the post season.
