Basketball

Ben Simmons takes blame for 76ers' second-round playoff exit


Ben Simmons blamed himself after the Philadelphia 76ers were bounced from the playoffs on Sunday with a 103-96 Game 7 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

The 24-year-old was horrible at the free-throw line throughout Philadelphia’s second-round series as he struggled to score. 

“I ain’t shoot well from the line this series,” Simmons said, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “Offensively, I wasn’t there. I didn’t do enough for my teammates. … There’s a lot of things that I need to work on.”

Simmons shot 15-for-45 on foul shots against Atlanta and 34.2% from the line for the entire 2021 playoffs, which is the worst free-throw percentage in NBA playoff history for a player with at least 70 attempts. 

The three-time All-Star was held to under 10 points in four out of the seven games against Atlanta, including his five-point showing on Sunday. 

76ers head coach Doc Rivers was asked postgame if Simmons can be the point guard on a championship team. He responded:

“I don’t know that question or the answer to that right now,” Rivers said. “So I don’t know the answer to that.”

The Sixers should be in for some significant changes this offseason, and the franchise will likely have to make a decision on whether or not to keep Simmons, who is owed $140.4 million over the next four seasons.

Marc Stein of The New York Times said Philadelphia “will obviously” explore the Simmons trade market this offseason, so things should get interesting. 





READ NEWS SOURCE

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.