Brooklyn Nets' Jared Dudley believes Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons is "average" when playing in half-court offense.
The 76ers ranked ninth in the NBA this season in transition offense, thanks in part to All-Star Simmons, who posted a triple-double in Philadelphia's Game-2 playoff win against Brooklyn.
In Philadelphia's 145-123 win over the Nets in the Eastern Conference first-round series, the 76ers tallied 12 fast-break points and another nine off turnovers.
"He's a player that when he picks up speed he's a load so you have to have two guys with him," Nets forward Dudley told the Philadelphia Daily News on Wednesday.
In addition to that, the team was getting a lot of buckets close to the basket as they tallied 62 points in the paint along with another 26 from the free-throw line.
Simmons had 18 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds against the Nets in Game 2 but he struggled in the opening matchup.
Philadelphia lost 111-102 and managed just four fast-break points and another 14 off turnovers. They still made a lot of free throws, but the team never quite got going in the game and fell to Brooklyn as a result.
A lot of that could be chalked up to the lack of transition points, but it could also point to Simmons, who finished with nine points and just three assists in the loss.
He never really got the 76ers out and running, and it cost them. And that is what Dudley wants to do constantly against Simmons: keep the young guard in front of him.
"I think Ben Simmons is a great player in transition," Dudley said. "[But] once you slow him up in the half court I think he's average."
The 76ers travel to Brooklyn to face the Nets in Game 3 on Thursday, with the series level at 1-1.
