Ben Simmons earned all the attention during the Philadelphia 76ers-Atlanta Hawks second-round series. Not even Trae Young was as famous as him, and it was all thanks to his struggles at the free-throw line.
After another terrible performance on Sunday night, where his team was eliminated from the playoffs, Simmons admitted that he didn’t play the best basketball of his life. In fact, he said he wasn’t never there, and that hurt his team’s chances to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals.
“I didn’t shoot well from the line this series. Offensively, I wasn’t there. I ain’t do enough for my teammates, but there’s a lot. There’s a lot of things I need to work on,” he said, via Rich Hoffman.
Ben Simmons: "I didn't shoot well from the line this series. Offensively, I wasn't there. I ain't do enough for my teammates, but there's a lot. There's a lot of things I need to work on."
— Rich Hofmann (@rich_hofmann) June 21, 2021
Moreover, he compared the Sixers’ situation to the Brooklyn Nets’ (eliminated on Saturday vs. Bucks), saying they also went down when everybody thought they were going to win it all.
“We lost. It sucks. I am who I am, it is what it is. It’s not easy to win and it shows. Nets got finished by the Bucks, it’s not easy to win.”
Ben Simmons: "We lost. It sucks. I am who I am, it is what it is. It's not easy to win and it shows. Nets got finished by the Bucks, it's not easy to win."
— Rich Hofmann (@rich_hofmann) June 21, 2021
Well, that is true but the Nets faced the Bucks with only one star, Kevin Durant, while Kyrie Irving was sidelined and James Harden played on one leg. The Nets tried hard to win but they couldn’t, succumbing to Giannis Antetokounmpo and co.
He really did say that. I'm baffled..I've never used that word in my life until now. pic.twitter.com/BkqAUkV0p0
— Gustavo Fring 🐺 (@_TJSTEELER) June 21, 2021
WHAT????? KD went down firing… playing every min of his last 2 games. Harden could barely move and played 50+ mins and scored 20+ points. He really had the audacity to compare the 2 losses? What a clown.
— Dave (@sitew33) June 21, 2021
"We want winning players on the Sixers"
Ben Simmons: pic.twitter.com/vUK1wnBnDk
— phil. (@phrrp) June 21, 2021
Why didn’t we listen pic.twitter.com/qw8RClzC96
— Nick ✊ (@MileHigh_Nick) June 21, 2021
Hate to be the “salty nets fan” but why mention us when you just got bounced by the Hawks bruh come on…😭
— 𝘿𝙧𝙚𝙬 🪤 (@drewny01) June 21, 2021
Nets looking at Ben Simmons bringing up their elimination as a reason why Sixers couldn’t get the job done: pic.twitter.com/adiGVDJdiZ
— Andrew Brian Posadas (@AndrewBPosadas) June 21, 2021
Translation: “I’m not gonna work on my shot so don’t expect any growth from me. You get what you get”
Nice! Just what you want to hear from a franchise cornerstone
— 13usterBrown (@13usterBrown) June 21, 2021
https://twitter.com/zibby326/status/1406815533694173186
No "i needed to play better" or "this is on me" or "i need to come back better next year." Just a bunch of lame excuses and no accountability or responsibility.
— Blow_Slogan (@MessiahCranky) June 21, 2021
Does Simmons think he's invincible? Think he's not expendable or tradeable? He was ALREADY on thin ice… This man is gonna be off the bench for the Pistons by playoffs next year if he doesn't get his shit together.
— 🌸Prince Riku Lyonheart (@RikuLyonheart) June 21, 2021
https://twitter.com/BKLYNszn/status/1406834900762775552https://twitter.com/LilSleepyFloydz/status/1406826185087098882
But, Durant did everything he could to lead his team to the win, even dropping 48 in Game 7. On the other hand, Simmons was awful at the line and from the field. Throughout the series, the playmaker only attempted three field goals in the 4th quarter.
Ben Simmons 4th quarter this series:
Game 1: 2-2 FG
Game 2: 0-0 FG
Game 3: 1-1 FG
Game 4: 0-0 FG
Game 5: 0-0 FG
Game 6: 0-0 FG
Game 7: 0-0 FG
— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) June 21, 2021
Sure, he made all of them but attempting only three field goals in the 4th quarter of seven games is really low. As he said, he needs to work on some stuff to unlock his game and reach the level that plenty of people expected him to reach when he entered the league.
