Throughout Ben Simmons’ career, there have been people who have touted him as “LeBron James without a jump shot.” Pundits like Stephen A. Smith truly believe that once Simmons develops a jump shot, he will become one of the best players in the league. Unfortunately, none of these prophecies have come to fruition, and quite frankly, Simmons has steadily gotten worse over the last couple of years.
Perhaps the best example of this regression was last night as the Sixers lost Game 7 to the Atlanta Hawks. Simmons had five points in the entire game and at one point, he refused to execute on a wide-open dunk, and instead, passed the ball off to a teammate who was covered. It was a tragic offensive display and his refusal to even attempt shots ultimately cost the Sixers their season.
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Immediately after the game, Simmons was the subject of some brutal slander on Twitter, and now, there are some Sixers fans who want him gone. Even Doc Rivers isn’t convinced that Simmons can be the starting point guard on this team, which is a serious indictment of his talents. This could prove to be a turbulent offseason for Simmons and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him on another team in short order.
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