SALT LAKE CITY — For a long time Thursday in Utah, Ben Simmons’ debut for the LA Clippers was looking quite inauspicious.
With 6:58 left in the first half, the host Utah Jazz led the visiting Clippers 50-30, marking the sixth game in a row the Clippers trailed by double digits. Simmons only played 8:42 in the first half, making one of two alley-oops thrown by James Harden and grabbing a lone rebound. Lineups with Simmons at point guard and Harden off the floor didn’t work while Simmons shared the floor with starting center Ivica Zubac, as the Clippers missed their first 10 shots of the second quarter.
But despite the quiet start, Simmons’ teammates say his impact was felt immediately.
“Honestly, I think as soon as he checked in,” Clippers shooting guard Norman Powell said of when the light bulb came on for Simmons in his Clippers debut. “Just the passes and reads that he made, talking to me especially and some of the other guys. Just when he has the ball, what he’s looking for. Running the lane, getting out in transition and running with them. Because he’s such a great passer, he sees the floor so well.”
Simmons played 27:02 while helping the Clippers beat the Jazz 120-116 in overtime to enter the All-Star break with a 31-23 record, good for sixth in the Western Conference. It was a stellar debut from Simmons, who finished with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting, seven rebounds, six assists without a turnover, three steals and a block. He also made all four of his free-throw attempts.
“Just taking it a play at a time,” Simmons said of being a part of a customary Clippers comeback. “That’s just my whole philosophy playing the game anyways, having a short-term memory in terms of the next play, focusing on the next play. So whether it goes our way or not, getting a stop, getting a bucket, it’s the next play after that. So just being consistent with that and staying on that.”
Thursday’s game in Utah wasn’t even on the schedule when the season started, but after January’s California wildfires, the Clippers had a back-to-back before the All-Star break. Simmons joined the Clippers on Monday after clearing waivers following a buyout agreement to part ways with the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday.
“It’s easy to play basketball with smart players,” said Clippers veteran Nicolas Batum, who first joined the Clippers as a post-buyout signing in December 2020. “That’s why he was the No. 1 pick, that’s why he was an All-Star in the NBA, because he’s a unique player, a very good basketball player. He just needs the right system, the right person to get his confidence back. And I’ve been there. I’ve been in his shoes five years ago. I think he came to the right spot to get it.”
Simmons is the fifth Clippers player to join the roster in February, joining former Jazz trade acquisitions Drew Eubanks and Patty Mills along with deadline acquisitions MarJon Beauchamp and Bogdan Bogdanović.
Asked Ben Simmons about being James Harden’s teammate exactly 3 years after being traded for each other.
Simmons: “I’m a competitor. I just want to compete. Regardless of all the bullshit that’s said online…”
Practice vs Harden: “On the other team, trying to whoop their ass” pic.twitter.com/8c630fmSlb
— Law Murray 🔄 (@LawMurrayTheNU) February 11, 2025
Simmons was able to practice Tuesday, but he did not play in a comeback win Wednesday at home against the Memphis Grizzlies. He hasn’t played in both games of a back-to-back since January 2023. Kawhi Leonard played in that game, but like Simmons, Leonard is restricted from playing back-to-backs.
After Tuesday’s practice, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue called Simmons “a point guard who can play the center and the point” depending on the unit. Simmons himself expressed that he chose the Clippers because they want him to be a point guard first.
“I spoke to a few different teams,” Simmons said Tuesday. “That was the first thing (the Clippers) said to me: We see you as a point guard. And for me, that’s true, that’s my position. I see the floor, I want to get my guys going, get them easy buckets, control the pace. And then on the defensive end, I want to be a dog, I want to be able to get stops and put that pressure on the ball.”
FIRST CLIP OVERTIME WIN IN MORE THAN TWO YEARS (Feb. 4 Batum Battalion 2023 at New York)
Clippers overcome 20-point deficit for 120-116 win at Utah, sweep Jazz for first time since 2014-15 season
I have work to do, but Clippers are 31-23 at All-Star break. Talk soon pic.twitter.com/cYde440Ads
— Law Murray 🔄 (@LawMurrayTheNU) February 14, 2025
In the second half Thursday, Simmons played all of his second-half minutes with Harden and with Zubac off the floor, outside of the final defensive possession in regulation. The Clippers outscored the Jazz by 14 points in Simmons’ minutes on the floor after halftime, and that’s when his full game blossomed.
“Just getting a feel for how they (were) playing us and getting a feel for how Ben will play for us, it was new for us,” Lue said after the game. “It was his first game, and so I thought he did a great job just reading the game, his IQ, making the right play, aggressive to the basket. I thought it was really good for us.”
There were so many instances Thursday when Simmons showed what he is still capable of despite being four years removed from his last All-Star selection and All-Defensive team selection in 2021 with the Philadelphia 76ers. Lue hinted after practice that Simmons had a budding chemistry with Bogdanović, whom the Clippers acquired from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for mainstay Terance Mann; in many ways, Simmons replaces Mann in the rotation. Watch Bogdanović set a screen for Simmons that allows Simmons to challenge Utah power forward John Collins at the basket and draw a foul that led to two made free throws:
“Get a bucket,” Simmons said about the sequence. “So I did that, got to the free-throw line, knocked them down and ran it back again.”
Earlier in the fourth quarter, Simmons got downhill again while pushing the pace, attacking big man Kyle Filipowski and scoring a right-handed layup after discarding the rookie in the paint:
Defensively, Simmons wrecked Utah after halftime. He drew offensive fouls on Lauri Markkanen and rookie Cody Williams in the third quarter. After that, Simmons seemed to get himself going after taking the ball away from Williams in the third quarter, one of 26 turnovers the Clippers forced:
“Especially in the second half, especially defensively, ripping the ball away from guys and the double-teams coming over, trapping, helping, picking guys up,” Powell said of Simmons’ defense. “And then making it easy on offense when James was being double-teamed, flashing and being the creator out of the double-team, was huge for us.”
Here is Simmons making perhaps his biggest play offensively in overtime. Harden did not take a single shot in overtime, ultimately playing 49:16 overall, while Powell scored a season-high 41 points. The Jazz were preoccupied with guarding those two. Movement from Kris Dunn encouraged the Jazz to show Harden a double-team, and Simmons flashed to the middle with Powell on the weak side. Dunn’s continued movement on the baseline distracted Filipowski just enough to leave Batum in the strong-side corner for a go-ahead 3 that represented the final lead change of the game:
“He’s skilled. He knows how to play the game of basketball,” Harden said of Simmons. “Hell of a passer, can push the ball in transition. Just smart.”
It seemed like Simmons also inspired his teammates with his effort. Utah made 18 3s in the first three quarters Thursday and none in the fourth quarter and overtime. Utah rookie Isaiah Collier thought he had a fast-break opportunity, and Batum erased his shot, allowing Simmons to scoop a rebound and start a fast break that led to a Harden 3. That was part of a 15-5 Clippers run that saw Utah fail to make a field goal for 5:49:
“He did everything we asked him to do: Rebound, defend, push the ball in transition, create for others, attack the rim,” Zubac said of Simmons. “When they doubled James, he was really good flashing in the middle and playmaking from there. It was great, man. It was all that we expected and more. I think he played great, and I think he’s going to be huge for us.”
There’s more for Simmons and LA to show going forward. Even though Lue said there were no concerns about Simmons sharing the floor with Zubac, the Clippers were outscored by seven points in the four minutes Simmons and Zubac shared the floor. Key Clippers reserve Amir Coffey did not play Thursday because of left knee soreness, The next opportunity for the Clippers to play with a full lineup that includes Simmons and Leonard will be next Thursday at Milwaukee against Simmons’ former head coach Doc Rivers.
“We have a lot of road games coming up, six or seven in a row,” Batum said. “I think it can be good, though, as a team, to just stick together, be together, get in the gym, practice, get to know the guys. I think there could be good stuff after the break to be together on the road to connect as a group also off the court. We got great, big games coming up. And after the Phoenix game, if we’re in great shape, then we’ll be good for the rest of the season.”
Simmons is the final piece to the Clippers making sense as they push toward the playoffs.
“The whole game, just being here, and the guys fighting,” Simmons said when asked what he enjoyed about his debut the most. “We were down, I think, 20 at one point. Guys stayed with it. These games can be dangerous (when) you’re going into the All-Star break. But guys stayed with it, and we finished it the right way.”
(Top photo: Alex Goodlett / Getty Images)
