Results of 76ers, Cavaliers proves it’s way too early to compare James and Simmons

Monday’s meeting between the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers was the first of many meetings between Ben Simmons, LeBron James.

After working their way up to being one of the hottest teams last week while riding a three-game winning streak, the Philadelphia 76ers received a rude awakening on Monday during their 113-91 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Brett Brown‘s team has looked competitive in some tough games this season, including two meetings with the Golden State Warriors, but based off how the Sixers looked at times against the Cavaliers, they still have a long way to go when it comes to competing in the Eastern Conference.

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Whether they wanted to discuss it or not, the main focus on this matchup was Ben Simmons squaring off against his mentor, LeBron James, for the first time in his career during a regular season game. And while Simmons certainly has the potential to dominate the league like King James has throughout his career, comparing the two this early on is just ridiculous, and both players understand that.

Think about it, Simmons only has 18 career games to his resume so far while James not only has three NBA titles to his name, but an impressive streak of seven-straight appearances to the NBA Finals, the last three of which have been with the Cavaliers. These statistics alone show how difficult it will be for any player to match what James has accomplished over the years during his time in Cleveland along with the Miami Heat, so there’s no reason to jump the gun just yet by comparing Simmons since the superstars are in two completely positions in their respected careers.

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Obviously, Philadelphia would love nothing more than to see Simmons make this type of impact during his career, but there are a few other things the team and their fans should be worrying about in the mean time. For instance, when looking at how long it’s been since the Sixers have recorded a winning record, Simmons understands the most important thing he can accomplish this year is to help his team secure a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference later in the year. And maybe in a few years when Simmons has more to his NBA resume, the comparisons to James will be more realistic to discuss.