Milwaukee Bucks: 3 matchups to watch for against Philadelphia 76ers

Feb 6, 2020; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA (Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports)
Feb 6, 2020; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA (Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports)
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Nov 21, 2018; Philadelphia, PA, USA (Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports)
Nov 21, 2018; Philadelphia, PA, USA (Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports)

Second matchup to watch for between Milwaukee Bucks against 76ers — Battle of premier point guards

While their size and stature couldn’t be more different, Jrue Holiday and Ben Simmons both hold the pulses of their respective teams. And it’s through that lens that we should expect to see them to see plenty of each other over the course of Wednesday night’s clash between the Bucks and the 76ers.

The Bucks haven’t shied away from slotting Holiday on to players of Simmons’ size, despite his point guard position label. We’ve seen Holiday guard anyone from Kevin Durant to LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard at times this season and while Simmons isn’t anywhere near the premier scorer compared to those examples, Holiday represents the best chance in slowing down the All-Star forward.

After all, Simmons’ importance to the 76ers only rises in such times when Embiid is out due to injury. With more floor spacers around Simmons as he has the ball in his hands, the 76ers can push the pace more and play to the All-NBA forward’s strengths.

Being able to neutralize the 76ers’ primary ball handler will be high on the list of things to do for the Bucks and Holiday and will force supporting role players into having to make plays and create offense. That will obviously be much easier said than done on Milwaukee’s part, but time will tell how much we see of Holiday on Simmons when it comes down to it.