Did they win? Hell no. Did he play particularly well? Not especially. But on day one of the brand-new NBA season, Philadelphia 76ers gun and Australia’s very own Ben Simmons wasted no time racking up footage for his 2018-19 highlight reel.
[jwplayer uhR6V6TN]
The Sixers had the honour of opening up the new NBA season, travelling to Boston to take on the Celtics at TD Garden. They got mercilessly stomped up and down the court, with a string of costly turnovers helping the Celtics overhaul Philly to tune of 105 – 87.
Simmons, however, still managed to drop a casual 19 points, 15 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals, and 2 blocks.
So much for easing into the season.
Among those assists were two absolutely picture-perfect no-look passes leading Philly teammates to easy buckets.
First, this outrageous blind pass to Markelle Fultz which sent tongues wagging.
um, WHAT @BenSimmons25?! pic.twitter.com/PRJVw38kBj
— RingerNBA (@ringernba) October 17, 2018
And secondly, a through-the-legs stunner leading to an easy Joel Embiid dunk.
.@BenSimmons25 between the legs to @JoelEmbiid 👀#HereTheyCome https://t.co/cOBfh4Tdqb
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) October 17, 2018
However, Ben Simmons wasn’t the only Australian to attract attention.
Boston big boy Aron Baynes was arguably one of the Celtics’ best, with his towering defensive work and (unbelievably) three-point shooting turning heads across NBA media.
Aron Baynes steps outside for 3!#CUsRise 56 | #HereTheyCome 45#KiaTipOff18 @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/XKtxGD8Tt6
— NBA (@NBA) October 17, 2018
Aron Baynes is balling 🏀 #NBA pic.twitter.com/uvDtZPj1Wl
— Chris Montano (@gswchris) October 17, 2018
Man, Aron Baynes is doing everything. He’s kept Embiid in check, has hit the wide-open three, and won every 50-50 ball. He’s kind of taken over the second half.
— Olgun Uluc (@OlgunUluc) October 17, 2018
Aron Baynes and Marcus Smart making 3s. Sixers struggling to get the ball into Embiid in the post, turning the ball over like crazy and Covington missing open shots. It’s like the season never ended.
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) October 17, 2018
https://twitter.com/World_Wide_Wob/status/1052358342843277312
ARON BAYNES IS PERFECT
— Dan Greenberg (@StoolGreenie) October 17, 2018
Basketball is back, it is BACK, folks. And we could not possibly be happier about it.
