If there was ever a rookie who is ineligible for this channel, Ben Simmons is it. The man needs no introduction as the most hyped neophyte since LeBron James. Him missing an entire year only added to the hype. All the mystique around “the process”; even more hype. He is the next big thing, the next biggest thing, and there is no way that he should be allowed on my channel next to the likes of Donatas Sabonis and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute.
But he’s a rookie, who, according to the rules, are always eligible for DTB highlightage, plus I want some video views to pump up my ego, so here we are.
I can’t be the only one who was hoping for an MCW-esque near triple-double, can I? After Gordon Hayward’s sobering injury, the NBA populace was ready for something to lift their spirits again, and Simmons putting his team on his back to a gritty win by nothing a triple-double with a bunch of steals and blocks (maybe even a jumper????) would have been just the ticket.
We didn’t get that. What we got was good, great even considering the dismal standard set by rookies last year, but it wasn’t, you know, as insane as the hype surrounding him. Can’t be too hard on him, though. This was his first game against legit NBA defenders who legit don’t want to be embarrassed by some gas-huffing Aussie bogan rookie, and he took it right to them.