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With NBA training camp a little over a month away, no movement on Ben Simmons even as Philadelphia fan ire turns up to most hated player ever decibles, is there a deeper story going on with the Sixers' enigmatic star?
The not-so-team-friendly numbers were glaring vs. the Atlanta Hawks in a yet another 2nd round playoff loss: 33% from the free throw line; three field goals in seven fourth quarters; under 10 points in four games; one open dunk not dunked.
The latter has become the visual definition for Sixers fans' desire to rid themselves of a player they no longer have any patience for.
It all seems to be in complete disrepair. There is no in between. I've never heard worse of a player here in Philadelphia, and that's really crazy to consider if you were here and understood the spirit of the town. In the aftermath, will Ben Simmons even show to training camp? Does Ben Simmons think this is fixable, and is he willing to take the hottest heat from a fanbase done with him?
Why hasn't he been traded? Trade demands from the Sixers were as exorbitant as in recent memory. If the Sixers are not trading Ben Simmons, why shop him so high and allow him to take the hottest heat fired up in Philly and expand across the globe?
Should he wear that on his 25 year old back, so if a success story becomes of this, the process growing out of the criticism truly becomes constructive?
I could go with that if this is all a basketball thing.
Since we're having a conversation of sorts, what is this off-the-court stuff with his family swirling since April? Despite past playoff failures, if that's what you want to call player development, it appears these past playoffs, offensively Ben Simmons, fell off a cliff. I thought he was over the hack-a-ben thing. His mannerisms at the end of the season, going to the line in those instances, seemed more confident. Then 34% from the line, good for the worst all time in the playoffs, with 70 attempts the cutoff happened. There was a more pronounced "drive to the center and dish it back out", as is his modus operandi. Often, it was done regardless of who guarded the rim. It was so pronounced even more so than everyone has stated from fans, to coaches, to punditry. I'm no psychologist. I'm just a Dad, and the shook look on Ben Simmons' face was straight up alarming. It honestly reminded me of those fourth quarters where the nation came down vicerably on LeBron James vs. the Dallas Mavericks, yet nothing changed with LeBron even though the criticism with LeBron did it?
You wonder why that happens.
How could a player with so many gifts above league athleticism not do what every player growing up wants to do in the biggest moments? That dunk would have tied the score in a Game 7 at home. Philadelphia fans would have exploded, and a dunker would have had more confidence to do what he physically is capable of. Basketball players know the spirit of being so in tune with the game that you don't miss, and it ain't luck. We wouldn't be having this exact conversation because of how pivotal those points would have become. Would something similar possibly happen vs. Milwaukee? Of course, yet for the sake of it, we'll never know.
Simmons' usage percentage (rate of plays a player is involved in offense) in the regular season is 21.2 and falls to 18.2 in the playoffs. His usage rate vs. the Hawks was an abysmal 14.8. Ben Simmons took zero shots in five fourth quarters vs. the Hawks. It let Atlanta off the hook, and after so many lofty goals and NBA Finals dreams, Philadelphia is home again in the same spot as the year before, and the year previously, dealing with as frustrated a fanbase as ever. Coupled with the uncertainty of the rest of the city's teams, this is not a good time to be on Philly's bad side young Simmons.
Yes he is young, and as a father, I wonder what's going on in his mind. Does the stuff going on with his sister and brother weigh heavily on a 25 year old's soul? It doesn't seem to factor when he's on defense, so what is this if it's nothing off the floor? Doc Rivers and Danny Green have both said Ben Simmons is going through something, so why does this all matter?
Fans only know what they know
Fans of sports don't care about all that. They want the effort. It's admittedly entitled, yet true to the game. It's the rush and a reason to feel good. Feeling good when they go to work and see their team's fan rival ducking and diving just to avoid the conversation of course they want to have. So, off the floor stuff doesn't matter, unless they know the information. It ruins the fantasy. Humanizes the players. We can all see why no one wants to talk about what is probably ripping the Simmons family apart, yet I ask, how would this affect you if what allegedly took place happened to you personally? It seems to have become a legal mess, and something so public would be troubling for anyone.
If Ben wants out as what's been rumored, maybe a change of scenery would be best for everyone. If details emerge, maybe the city would have compassion, and maybe they won't, yet, to stay and make it work would create a legend the city needs. I don't know if a Philly brass hesitance to offer league friendly deals for all involved is because of the off-floor stuff or not, yet something is amiss.
Writer Landon Buford opines:
“Ben Simmons from his post-game interview sounded like he wants to get in to the gym and work on his shooting. He reminds me of Jason (Kidd) during the time when every one called him Jason because of his jumper wasn’t there until later in his career. I would not give up on him so soon because of his upside and he is only 24 years old. It took LeBron James awhile to get somewhat of a consistent jumper. If he can a develop somewhat a jumper the narrative will change.”
The conundrum is Ben Simmons is a spectacular defensive player. When Kawhi Leonard hit his classic jumper from the right corner at the buzzer in 2019 to eliminate the Sixers in another Game 7, it appears both Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons became better defenders.
Atlanta superstar Trae Young shot .392 from the field in the 7 games -- including 5-23 in Game 7, and most of the series he was guarded by Ben Simmons. Simmons was named the best defender in the league via an anonymous coaching poll. At 6'10" and 240 pounds with elite speed and strength, Ben Simmons may be the prototype NBA defender. With that wingspan, Ben Simmons deflected 202 shots last season (3.5 per) -- which was third in the league (tied with teammate Matisse Thybulle), is 7th in steals with 1.6 per (also tied with Thybulle). He is a 2-time All-NBA first-team defender, three-time All-Star and Rookie of the Year.
Defense matters
In an offensive league with scoring trending higher, the Sixers have a distinct and very unique defensive advantage. Having three elite defenders in Joel Embiid, Simmons and Matisse Thybulle is enough to truly think very hard and weigh everything involved before pulling the trigger.
Yes, this has always been the case with Ben Simmons. Honestly, there was a red flag when I saw his 56% shooting percentage at LSU. All that went out the window in his first summer league game where he flashed passes of Magic Johnson and LeBron James. He was quick up the floor, could handle with either hand, and great in transition. When those opportunities dry up, what are the Sixers' offenses left with? It's something they had to know in taking Ben Simmons as the top overall pick, so what is everyone expecting?
If Ben is to become the Hall of Famer, I still say he will, a decision must be made about his offensive identity.
Passive is his identity?
He was passive early in his career, and when I spoke to Ben Simmons and his former coach Brett Brown in November of '17, being aggressive at the cup is something he's always been aware of, yet the issues persist.
Something has to change either in personnel around a talent like Ben Simmons, or Simmons himself. The Sixers are really in a spot because the uncertain health of Joel Embiid, arguably the best player in the league, makes him also a future question mark.
The difference is, Joel Embiid wants to win here, and it shows.
Philly fans love Joel Embiid, and many blame Ben Simmons solely for the Sixers playoff collapse.
Robert Marlow, a Sixers fan in Brooklyn, tells me: “My heart is broken because I saw Embiid give it all. But when we needed Ben the most, I witnessed him not only scared of the moment but I saw an All-Star unwilling to try. I’m still speechless.”
Philadelphia is a town of passion. It expects its athletes to be more than them. When an athlete fails here, reaction depends on the effort athletes give that night. Time opens wounds of past failure and frustration, so when an athlete doesn’t live up to how fans think he should perform over a period of years, it’s inevitable that athlete will be criticized with everything Philly has in its soul.
That Simmons didn’t take 4th quarter shots could be chalked up to an insecurity at the stripe. Teams are putting him on the line, so as that moment in the game approaches with two minutes left in the 4th, I’m sure his anxiety is on 1000.
Free throws, Philly knows
I covered most of Andre Iguodala’s career in Philly. He had an awkward interaction and held the media accountable. If he didn’t trust you because you slammed him for example without proper context, you got nothing (I wish more athletes were such. Fans will know more). There were times in the press row where there was silence in the arena as Iguodala stepped to the line. He’d miss so many, and fans would give it to him in the most cringe worthy of ways. I tried to fight off their insistence that Iguodala had to be gone ASAP, yet they were done with him.
I told them why their impatience would lead to continued mediocrity. We know what happened with Iguodala in the aftermath of leaving Philly. He was an all star that year; was added to the gold medal winning Olympic team, and became a Finals MVP for his specific defense on his “rival” LeBron James.
Does Philly want to make the same mistake with Ben Simmons? As I mentioned earlier, the advantage of having Simmons on defense is tremendous, and if the Sixers trade him for say, Dame Lillard, isn't that really a lateral move?
Doesn't that subtract defense? While adding offense, Dame is not the tallest guard, so how will the Sixers stop Brooklyn? How do you stop Brooklyn without the advantage of Simmons guarding Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving in spurts as well?
What will be of Ben Simmons?
There's a lot to think about in Philadelphia, and soul searching abounds. As training camp quickly approaches, intelligence must also become the focus, and the most intelligent look inward must be that of Ben Simmons.
In the year of examining mental health in pro sports, instead of shying away from what could be obvious reasons for a lack of success, let's have the convos. The same convos the sports world had with Naomi Osaka, Sha'Carri Richardson and Simone Biles. The fans deserve a chance to understand just a little more thoroughly the players driving a love for the game.
There is more to this Ben Simmons story, and while the summation of x's and o's won't break Simmons' bones, not having the correct convos will never help him.
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