Court Vision: Ben Simmons will sacrifice most for Jimmy Butler

Welcome to Court Vision, a weekly video-breakdown column on emerging trends around the NBA that you might have missed.

Ben Simmons sharing the spotlight

The Jimmy Butler era got off to a roaring start before the Orlando Magic stole the win courtesy of a Terrence Ross pullup dagger.

Yet, despite their fourth-quarter collapse, the Philadelphia 76ers still showed plenty of promise. Joel Embiid posted his first triple-double, JJ Redick remained impossibly hot, Markelle Fultz accepted his overdue demotion and looked comfortable off the bench, and even Wilson Chandler shook off a nagging hamstring injury to deliver some clutch baskets. It looked like a formula for success.

But lost amid the excitement was Ben Simmons' underwhelming performance. Save for bringing up the ball and probing for transition buckets, Simmons spent most of the night skulking around the baseline like a power forward and took just five shots in 32 minutes.

Butler assumed most of the playmaking duties in the halfcourt by playing the pick-and-roll with Embiid, which is exactly what he was brought in to do. But that left Simmons to wait around for dump-off passes and capitalize off scraps:

He became a liability when the Magic contained the initial action, as seen in the play below. Notice how Aaron Gordon slides over to deny the pocket pass to Embiid while still remaining in position to challenge Simmons, which leaves Butler with only the bail-out pass to Landry Shamet:

One potential solution would be for Embiid to pop out to the 3-point line and drag his defender to the perimeter. The paint would declutter on Butler's drives, and Simmons would see more opportunities since his defender would be the only one who can provide help at the basket.

But then again, there's no reason for Embiid to take a step back when he's leading the league in scoring. Embiid already stated he doesn't intend to change his game to accommodate Butler, and he shouldn't have to when he's undeniably the team's best player.

The decision then comes down to whether Simmons or Butler should run the offense, and there is no easy answer. Either Butler will have to serve as a catch-and-shoot player while Simmons runs the show, or Simmons will need to become a cutter and occasionally clog the lane when Butler takes over. Neither outcome is ideal, and both players will have to sacrifice.

Why the Rockets ditched Carmelo

Houston didn't cut bait on Carmelo Anthony because he couldn't score. Anthony struggled with his consistency, but he supplied a much-needed boost in wins over the Brooklyn Nets (28 points) and Chicago Bulls (17 points). Having a versatile scorer off the bench is useful.

The Rockets just couldn't live with Anthony's shortcomings on defense. Opponents hit better than 70 percent when he was "contesting" the shot in the restricted area, and there was no place to hide him. Teams would intentionally screen off the ball to put Anthony in position to defend at the rim, and he often wouldn't even put his hands up to contest:

He was even torched on Cameron Payne's straight line drive:

Gary Clark isn't necessarily a better player, but at least he gives effort, and what the Rockets need more than anything is for someone to just give a crap about defending. It's no coincidence that Houston's defense has jumped from 21st to 11th in the four games since Anthony was dropped.

Montrezl Harrell is indefatigable

Pick-and-roll bigs are a dime a dozen, but Montrezl Harrell stands out from the pack through sheer will. He's a nightmare in the paint because he battles for every loose ball as if his life depended on it.

Nobody is prepared to grapple to the death with Harrell in a random November game. The Rockets sent four bodies - including a taller 7-footer in Clint Capela - to deal with Harrell, and yet he still shrugged them off to finish with a two-handed flush:

The Clippers signed Harrell this summer for just $12 million over two seasons - an absolute bargain. He's averaging 15 points per game on 68 percent shooting and anchoring the Clippers' second unit alongside Lou Williams.

Dwane Casey's clutch play-calling

The Detroit Pistons have a winning record despite being outscored on the season because Dwane Casey keeps pulling out narrow victories.

Having already dialed up brilliant plays to beat the Sixers and Bulls earlier this season, Casey sketched not one, but two clever sets to complete a 19-point comeback in his vengeful return to Toronto.

On the first play, Casey caught the Raptors by surprise with Glenn Robinson III rolling to the rim off a screen from Blake Griffin. It would have provided the dagger if not for Pascal Siakam's spectacular block:

Undeterred, Casey targeted Siakam once again on the game-winning shot. He sent Reggie Bullock around a Griffin screen, and some miscommunication between Siakam and OG Anunoby led both players to chase Griffin, while Bullock slipped through the back door for a floater right before time expired.

The Warriors' other problem

Lost amid the ongoing tension between Kevin Durant and Draymond Green is the Warriors' inexplicable hesitancy from the 3-point line.

Despite employing three of the best shooters in history, the Warriors rank 20th in 3-point attempts per game this season. In the four contests that Stephen Curry has sat out, they're dead last.

Part of it is due, perhaps ironically, to the personnel. Durant could easily try more than 3.5 threes per game, but he prefers to dribble inside and shoot mid-range jumpers out of the post. Meanwhile, Green and Andre Iguodala have a nasty habit of turning down wide-open looks in favor of hunting assists.

But the lack of threes can also be attributed to head coach Steve Kerr's affinity for running a motion-based offense as opposed to a more conventional pick-and-roll scheme. Golden State would devastate teams if it stationed shooters in the corners while Durant attacked off a high screen, but only the Sixers run fewer pick-and-rolls.

Golden State has so much talent that any criticism of the team is largely moot, but it's strange to watch the organization that popularized the 3-point revolution get lapped by other teams.