No. 1 pick Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers faced off against the Los Angeles Lakers and No. 2 overall pick Brandon Ingram Saturday night at Las Vegas Summer League in a gross, sloppy, highlight-ridden affair that saw the Lakers come out on top in a 70-69 victory after a D’Angelo Russell wild buzzer beater. More importantly, the game provided a showcase for the two top picks in the drafts, and the differences between them.

Simmons finished with just eight points, but 10 rebounds, eight assists and seven turnovers along with three steals, while Ingram finished with just seven points on 3-of-12 shooting. D’Angelo Russell once again stole the show for the Lakers with 22 points, four rebounds and five assists to six sloppy turnovers.

Here are some takeaways from Ingram vs. Simmons in Vegas.

BEN SIMMONS

by Matt Moore

• Simmons’ passing ability is not overhyped. Truly great passing on a court is a combination of vision, creativity, and the sound execution of the pass itself. You need to not only be able to see the angle and catch the defense unaware, but deliver the ball with velocity and accuracy commiserate with the objective, and Simmons has all of that. Whether it was sling passes on the perimeter to wide open shooters or complex bounce passes cutters in traffic, Simmons’ passes were as tactically brilliant as they were beautiful. That’s the upside of what is a worrisome and significant inability (and unwillingness) to shoot, in that if you play off of him, he’s still able to deliver passes to space. It is a real weapon. If you’re a special, elite-level shooter it can compensate for problems in playmaking. Simmons is proving the opposite.
• That said, the jumper problem is an issue. The Lakers were playing four feet off of him, and it was almost unnatural how Simmons refused to shoot, as nearly any other player rises and fires in that situation. Simmons’ shooting has been the big on-court knock against him, but the youngster didn’t even take them. Simmons shot just eight times total, and just two of those were jumpers. It’s a definite, and pronounced hole in his game. His avoidance of not just shots, but layups, is one reason the name “Rondo” has circulated so much around him. When asked if he thinks he needs to shoot more, Simmons said he needs to be more assertive and just “take what they give” him. They were giving him jumpshots, and he was unwilling to take them and unwilling to make them.
• Simmons athleticism, however, is unreal. He has so much explosiveness, and covers so much ground easily, that it’s easy to see why he was taken No. 1 overall. With his size, once he gets into a real strength and conditioning program, it’s going to be unreal. It’s one reason why I continue to believe his best function may be as the screener in pick and roll situations, able to get the ball on a switch or in space and find ways to create.
• Simmons did struggle at the rim as well, notably missing an open finger roll when he tried to finish with his right on the left side at a bad angle.
• His defense, however, was solid, and again, that length and athleticism gives him an advantage in attacking consistently on that end. He’s able to grab the ball and kickstart the break, getting ahead of the defensive transition. That’s going to open up a lot of lob opportunities as the Sixers develop.
• Overall, Simmons’ numbers were unimpressive compared to his game, and the No.1 pick put on a show. How his game will translate to an NBA grind will be a fascinating watch.
• In other Sixers notes: T.J. McConnell looks like a real NBA point guard and nearly won the game before D’Angelo Russell’s heroics. Jerami Grant had maybe the highlight play of summer league so far with this dunk. Richaun Holmes looks very much like an NBA forward, with 10 points and four blocks. Joel Embiid was courtside for the game and celebrated with McConnell after his almost-winner, then was backstage chatting and laughing with Simmons. Embiid seems close with his all his teammates despite not having played a game yet for Philly.

Ben Simmons showed his passing game Saturday night. USATSI

BRANDON INGRAM

by Zach Harper

• When Brandon Ingram debuted against the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday, he was able to show off a lot of his skill set. He was going against guys like David Lighty, who are fine basketball players but not exactly imposing forces. Going against Philadelphia 76ers’ Jerami Grant was a decent wakeup call of just how crafty you need to be against an athletic freak with good size. Grant stands 6-foot-8 and probably outweighs Ingram by a good 30-lbs or so.
• When Ingram tried to get by Grant, he couldn’t. When Ingram tried to get scoring position against a much bigger Ben Simmons, he couldn’t move him. That’s why you saw this showdown between the Top 2 picks in 2016 fizzle out a bit. There wasn’t a real showdown moment. For Ingram there wasn’t a moment at all. He couldn’t let his handle work because it was too high on the bounce and he wasn’t strong enough to turn the corner on his opponent.
• Ingram made just 3-of-12 from the field for 7 points. Most of those shots came in a second half that really picked up the energy of the building. He got free for an open 3-pointer from the wing and showed off that shooting stroke. But if he wasn’t getting freed by a scrambling defense, he wasn’t making an impact on the game.
• This was a huge disappointment for Ingram. It doesn’t mean he’s bad. We just didn’t get the star power we hoped for. Similar things happened when D’Angelo Russell faced off against Karl-Anthony Towns a year ago. Maybe next year, Ingram will own the night.
• By the way, the Lakers’ other No. 2 pick D’Angelo Russell was the real star for the Lakers. With Ingram being a deflated aspect of the match-up, Russell picked up the responsibilities of putting on a show. His handle was tight and not as sloppy as the day before. His shooting had to come around, but it certainly did on the last two possessions when he knocked down two long jumpers to secure the victory. If we were looking for star power out of a Lakers No. 2 pick, the experience of Russell was much better prepared for it than Ingram.
• Speaking of owning the moment, Larry Nance, Jr. may be the most impressive Lakers’ summer league player ever. He owns the crowd. He dunks all over the place. He swoops in from the rafters to block shots and grab rebounds. He causes the crowd to chant, “Larry! Larry!” whenever he makes a big play.
• Yes, that’s right. Larry Nance is getting more chants from the mostly Lakers crowd at summer league over guys like Ben Simmons, Brandon Ingram, and D’Angelo Russell.
• This is the world we live in and it’s chaotically glorious.

Ben Simmons and Brandom Ingram faced off in Vegas. USATSI