The Ben Simmons saga is still a hot topic around the NBA community. Things seem to be changing for the player and his team, the Philadelphia 76ers. After a couple of tumultuous months, the player returned to the team this week.
Some reports suggest Simmons could play for the franchise this season, but nothing is certain now. Ben has been training, appearing in his annual shooting videos where he sinks three-pointers with extreme ease.
Either with the Sixers or any other team, fans expect him to translate those videos into consistency in official games. Several people around the league expect Simmons to make a big leap this upcoming campaign, including Shaquille O’Neal, one of his biggest detractors.
The Big Diesel recently reacted to a tweet comparing Lonzo Ball’s shooting improvement to Simmons’ regression, saying that the latter is lazy and doesn’t want to work on his struggles (1:03).
“Somebody put out a tweet yesterday that made a lot of sense. He said the way Lonzo Ball is shooting right now is just a testament to somebody working on their jumper. Lonzo Ball is shooting that thing and he look good shooting that thing. And I thought about that and I’m like, you know what? After one year, he changed his shot up and is looking better. This dude been in the league 5-6 years with the same shot, same little attitude. But they called his bluff. Good job Philadelphia.”
Simmons has shown that he can sink 3s. However, there’s something that prevents him from trying more consistently. His workout videos show that he has no problem making those jumpers, but he needs to make them when it really matters.
Some say he needs to unlock his mind, others say he’s too comfortable not expanding his game. Still, the reality is that Simmons can do more than he’s done so far, and if he wants to take his game to the next level, he needs to add a jumper to his arsenal.
