I guess it was a lot to hope for that this would be Ben Simmons’ literal “flu game”, a dominating masterpiece of everything basketball-related, a triple-double and a five-by-five rolled into one, a showcase of scoring both inside and out. That was what I was imagining in my most private fantasies, even knowing that a regular-season matchup between the 76ers and Suns could never live up to a playoff type of atmosphere.
20 points and 7 assists is nice, though. Not out of line with his season averages, but that’s not so bad, because his season averages are insane for a rookie. I’m already starting to take for granted how good Simmons is. As the creation of my unrealistic fantasies portended, soon I will not be satisfied unless he scores 25, then 30, who knows to what heights he will have to go to impress me? This has happened with other players before; I can’t even watch a Russell Westbrook vid unless he’s scoring 50. Highlight tolerance is a real thing.