It was only a matter of time before Anfernee Simons was going to get going for the Philadelphia 76ers. He's too good of a shooter and too good of a scorer to not find a way to produce.
After starting the season just 5-for-21 from deep, Simons is 16-for-27 from deep over the last three games combined. He knocked down another five triples in the team'swin over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night and he was able to make things happen for this group at a high level.
Editor's note: If one hasn't seen the exclusive with Simons, that can beread here.
"I think he’s a great shooter and a great scorer," coach Nick Nurse told reporters in Charlotte after the win. "I think I mentioned this a couple of days ago, but he literally had one practice going into
opening night and he played a lot. We probably took his legs out a little bit, conditioning and all that kind of stuff, but another big night from him. We really need that spacing out there from him.”
All throughout the night, the Sixers would grab big offensive rebounds and then kick them out to Simons, who was ready to knock down open 3s. Those types of plays allowed Philadelphia to stay in the game whenever it looked like the Hornets were going to put Philadelphia away and earn a win. It helps when Simons is ready to shoot those types of looks and give the Sixers some real production after missing all of the preseason and then the slow start.
"I always believe those are the best 3s to get," Simons told reporters. "Just when you get an offensive rebound, you’ve got shooters to be able to step into it like practice. Somebody passes it to you from under the rim, those are the best threes to get. I’ll always enjoy getting those types of 3s, and also that just kills the defense. They don’t want to give up an offensive rebound, and then you hit a 3 as well. Those type of plays are momentum plays for us."
Simons and the Sixers will look to keep things moving in the right direction when they play host to the Chicago Bulls on Monday.
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Sixers discuss play of Anfernee Simons in road win over Hornets
