G19: Lakers @ Sixers 7:30pm ET 01/27/21 - ESPN

[Ferry Avenue]

Score 105-93 with 3:07 left.

Caruso makes a layup 105-95.
Embiid turns the ball over.
Caruso makes a 3. 105-98.
Curry misses a 3.
Schroeder makes a 3. 105-101.
Embiid misses a 3ft shot. Tobias Harris with an offensive foul.
Caldwell-Pope makes a 3. 105-104.
Embiid misses an 18ft shot. Danny Green rebound, misses a 3.
Davis makes a layup. 106-105.

In the last three minutes, Embiid missed two shots and had a turnover and the guy Simmons was guarding had 0 points. Result: Ben Simmons sucks.

What you don't see in the play-by-play above is "Simmons dribble penetrates to the hoop and scores, draws a foul, or dishes to someone (preferably Embiid) for a layup."

So yes, within the context of that game situation and what the team needs from him in such situations, he was bad. He's incapable of operating as the closer the team needs in such situations, and that's a function of his lack of development as a player.

The ball should not be dumped down to Embiid in the post in those situations. The ball should stay at the top of the arc in Simmons's hands where he can't be double-teamed, and he should then function much like Giannis as a dribble penetrator and shooter or passer. The result should be either a high-percentage shot by Simmons or someone he passes the ball to, or a drawn shooting foul.

Did it not irk this guy that he was asked to hand the ball off to Jimmy Bulter to function in that way in the clutch of nearly every 2019 playoff game? Why has he not developed his game to function in that way since then?

[phillynative]

Ummmm is this a sarcastic post???

Is he joking???

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Of all the people who would land a punch, it would be Korkmaz? lol. Just stop going to his twitter.

[phillynative]

Ben Simmons is responsible for the Curry and Green missed three. He passed them the ball with little time on the shot clock for them to make a reasonable play.

Some revisionist history here.

On the Curry 3, the ball got inbounded to Green. Green passed it to Simmons who immediately passed it to over half court to Harris with 20 seconds left. Harris held the ball and gave the ball back to Simmons in the corner at the top of half court with 12 seconds left. Simmons drove on Davis and drew Curry's defender Caldwell-Pope to him. Simmons passes the ball to Curry with 5 seconds left. Curry's man was at the elbow when the pass occurred, but instead of taking the open 3, Curry tries to dribble by Pope. Pope played good defense and forces Curry to dribble back behind the 3 point line and take a contested 3.

On the Green 3. After Embiid missed a jump shot, Green rebounded, passed to Harris, then passed to Simmons with 11 seconds left on the clock. Harris has Lebron on him, Simmons has Caruso on him. Instead of letting Simmons take Caruso, Harris for some reason, sets a screen to allow Lebron to switch onto Simmons instead of Green setting the screen to allow Schroeder to have to switch. Simmons passed the ball to Green with 6 seconds left on the shot clock. Green had a chance to take an open 3, but didn't. Instead he decided to take two dribbles in (like Curry previously). Instead of continuing his drive to the basket, Green dribbled back behind the 3 point line and put himself in a worse position where he was forced to take a shot while moving away from the basket.

Embiid was horrendous the final 3 minutes. Where are his critics? The offense flows through the guy and he disappears and then the Simmons-stans come on the message board to bash him like it was his fault.

1. Drew KCP is a stretch. KCP did not even move because he knew Simmons has no intention to score. Even AD's drop is so far. By the time Curry catches the pass, KCP is already ready to contest.



2. Green was not open for a three in the corner. The more viable option was to pass the ball to Harris because he is being guarded by Caruso just like the game winner.

Ben wanted to prove that him passing out to a 3pt shooter is the best option whether that shooter is open or not ."Hey look I dont have to shoot". Ignoring the player having the best offensive nite(tobias) on our team is being defended by a smaller player.

I agree that Embiid did not have good stretch closing the game at all. He took too many jumpers and did not grab a board(i know the excuse will be his back).

I also have to agree that Ben having the ball in his hands in the halfcourt in deciding moments in the game leave us at a disadvantage.

[HotelVitale]

[ The ball should stay at the top of the arc in Simmons's hands where he can't be double-teamed, and he should then function much like Giannis as a dribble penetrator and shooter or passer. The result should be either a high-percentage shot by Simmons or someone he passes the ball to, or a drawn shooting foul. Did it not irk this guy that he was asked to hand the ball off to Jimmy Bulter to function in that way in the clutch of nearly every 2019 playoff game? Why has he not developed his game to function in that way since then?

At this point that's not going to end well. Simmons can really only drive full speed and try to bump his guy or do a hesitation step thing, and then leave his feet and throw up whatever shot those moves leave him in. Or get cut off and fling the ball back out to the perimeter. He just doesn't have the angles and footwork necessary to be a game-closing driver, even though he has the vision and athleticism, and he doesn't change speeds and manipulate space in the lane well at all. For better or for worse he's an opportunistic driver for now, there are some distinct mental and physical skills that he apparently doesn't have now that keep him from being that volume go-to driver. Hoping he can get there but we've seen more than enough to know how that'll end if he started doing it tomorrow.

[Ferry Avenue]

[ The ball should stay at the top of the arc in Simmons's hands where he can't be double-teamed, and he should then function much like Giannis as a dribble penetrator and shooter or passer. The result should be either a high-percentage shot by Simmons or someone he passes the ball to, or a drawn shooting foul. Did it not irk this guy that he was asked to hand the ball off to Jimmy Bulter to function in that way in the clutch of nearly every 2019 playoff game? Why has he not developed his game to function in that way since then?

At this point that's not going to end well. Simmons can really only drive full speed and try to bump his guy or do a hesitation step thing, and then leave his feet and throw up whatever shot those moves leave him in. Or get cut off and fling the ball back out to the perimeter. He just doesn't have the angles and footwork necessary to be a game-closing driver, even though he has the vision and athleticism, and he doesn't change speeds and manipulate space in the lane well at all. For better or for worse he's an opportunistic driver for now, there are some distinct mental and physical skills that he apparently doesn't have now that keep him from being that volume go-to driver. Hoping he can get there but we've seen more than enough to know how that'll end if he started doing it tomorrow.

Right, and I don't recommend they start doing it, for the reasons you mentioned. But the absence of his development in that area was a big reason this team went from 12 up to 1 down in under three crunch time minutes the other night.

It's easier to notice what did happen (Embiid's turnovers for example) than what didn't happen. What didn't happen was Simmons's functioning as the closer he should've become long ago. A mere four points he contributed to (passing or shooting) during that part of the game would've made it entirely different.

[HotelVitale]

[ The ball should stay at the top of the arc in Simmons's hands where he can't be double-teamed, and he should then function much like Giannis as a dribble penetrator and shooter or passer. The result should be either a high-percentage shot by Simmons or someone he passes the ball to, or a drawn shooting foul. Did it not irk this guy that he was asked to hand the ball off to Jimmy Bulter to function in that way in the clutch of nearly every 2019 playoff game? Why has he not developed his game to function in that way since then?

At this point that's not going to end well. Simmons can really only drive full speed and try to bump his guy or do a hesitation step thing, and then leave his feet and throw up whatever shot those moves leave him in. Or get cut off and fling the ball back out to the perimeter. He just doesn't have the angles and footwork necessary to be a game-closing driver, even though he has the vision and athleticism, and he doesn't change speeds and manipulate space in the lane well at all. For better or for worse he's an opportunistic driver for now, there are some distinct mental and physical skills that he apparently doesn't have now that keep him from being that volume go-to driver. Hoping he can get there but we've seen more than enough to know how that'll end if he started doing it tomorrow.

Right, and I don't recommend they start doing it, for the reasons you mentioned. But the absence of his development in that area was a big reason this team went from 12 up to 1 down in under three crunch time minutes the other night.

It's easier to notice what did happen (Embiid's turnovers for example) than what didn't happen. What didn't happen was Simmons's functioning as the closer he should've become long ago. A mere four points he contributed to (passing or shooting) during that part of the game would've made it entirely different.

I guess so, but that's almost like saying 'we lost that lead because Seth Curry can't tomahawk jam over AD at will.' Simmons can't do that stuff and he's never been able to, so it wasn't on the table as an option and doesn't make sense to me as the biggest grievance/fault for that game. We lost the lead because none of our offensive options work that well against a locked-in end-of-game defense, and because we played safe/non-aggressive, and because we happened to miss a couple shots that might have fallen on another day. (And most importantly because the Lakers scored on roughly 10 or their last 12 possessions, with a lot of 3s thrown in.)

[youngcrev]

At this point that's not going to end well. Simmons can really only drive full speed and try to bump his guy or do a hesitation step thing, and then leave his feet and throw up whatever shot those moves leave him in. Or get cut off and fling the ball back out to the perimeter. He just doesn't have the angles and footwork necessary to be a game-closing driver, even though he has the vision and athleticism, and he doesn't change speeds and manipulate space in the lane well at all. For better or for worse he's an opportunistic driver for now, there are some distinct mental and physical skills that he apparently doesn't have now that keep him from being that volume go-to driver. Hoping he can get there but we've seen more than enough to know how that'll end if he started doing it tomorrow.

Right, and I don't recommend they start doing it, for the reasons you mentioned. But the absence of his development in that area was a big reason this team went from 12 up to 1 down in under three crunch time minutes the other night.

It's easier to notice what did happen (Embiid's turnovers for example) than what didn't happen. What didn't happen was Simmons's functioning as the closer he should've become long ago. A mere four points he contributed to (passing or shooting) during that part of the game would've made it entirely different.

I guess so, but that's almost like saying 'we lost that lead because Seth Curry can't tomahawk jam over AD at will.' Simmons can't do that stuff and he's never been able to, so it wasn't on the table as an option and doesn't make sense to me as the biggest grievance/fault for that game. We lost the lead because none of our offensive options work that well against a locked-in end-of-game defense, and because we played safe/non-aggressive, and because we happened to miss a couple shots that might have fallen on another day. (And most importantly because the Lakers scored on roughly 10 or their last 12 possessions, with a lot of 3s thrown in.)

This!

I don't even know where these misplaced expectations game from. I expected him to have improved moreso than he has in general, but being a late game iso scorer was never on the table.

We've known for years now that this team was going to need an on ball perimeter scorer to go with Ben and Jo. It's why we peed our collective pants over moving up for Fultz.

[Ferry Avenue]

Right, and I don't recommend they start doing it, for the reasons you mentioned. But the absence of his development in that area was a big reason this team went from 12 up to 1 down in under three crunch time minutes the other night.

It's easier to notice what did happen (Embiid's turnovers for example) than what didn't happen. What didn't happen was Simmons's functioning as the closer he should've become long ago. A mere four points he contributed to (passing or shooting) during that part of the game would've made it entirely different.

I guess so, but that's almost like saying 'we lost that lead because Seth Curry can't tomahawk jam over AD at will.' Simmons can't do that stuff and he's never been able to, so it wasn't on the table as an option and doesn't make sense to me as the biggest grievance/fault for that game. We lost the lead because none of our offensive options work that well against a locked-in end-of-game defense, and because we played safe/non-aggressive, and because we happened to miss a couple shots that might have fallen on another day. (And most importantly because the Lakers scored on roughly 10 or their last 12 possessions, with a lot of 3s thrown in.)

This!

I don't even know where these misplaced expectations game from. I expected him to have improved moreso than he has in general, but being a late game iso scorer was never on the table.

Then he needs to be traded for one, because it's the difference between this team's being a perennial playoff frustration and a championship contender.

The stuff that Ben Simmons is apparently "not" has consequences.

[Sixerscan]

I guess so, but that's almost like saying 'we lost that lead because Seth Curry can't tomahawk jam over AD at will.' Simmons can't do that stuff and he's never been able to, so it wasn't on the table as an option and doesn't make sense to me as the biggest grievance/fault for that game. We lost the lead because none of our offensive options work that well against a locked-in end-of-game defense, and because we played safe/non-aggressive, and because we happened to miss a couple shots that might have fallen on another day. (And most importantly because the Lakers scored on roughly 10 or their last 12 possessions, with a lot of 3s thrown in.)

This!

I don't even know where these misplaced expectations game from. I expected him to have improved moreso than he has in general, but being a late game iso scorer was never on the table.

Then he needs to be traded for one, because it's the difference between this team's being a perennial playoff frustration and a championship contender.

The stuff that Ben Simmons is apparently "not" has consequences.

Or trade other stuff for that like the Nets just did.

They tried doing it with getting fultz and getting butler, the latter of which almost worked and might have had they stuck with it. Morey is building up the asset base and hopefully at some point they can make another move like that. Or maybe trading Simmons makes sense at some point. We’ll see, in the meantime they’re pretty good.

[youngcrev]

I guess so, but that's almost like saying 'we lost that lead because Seth Curry can't tomahawk jam over AD at will.' Simmons can't do that stuff and he's never been able to, so it wasn't on the table as an option and doesn't make sense to me as the biggest grievance/fault for that game. We lost the lead because none of our offensive options work that well against a locked-in end-of-game defense, and because we played safe/non-aggressive, and because we happened to miss a couple shots that might have fallen on another day. (And most importantly because the Lakers scored on roughly 10 or their last 12 possessions, with a lot of 3s thrown in.)

This!

I don't even know where these misplaced expectations game from. I expected him to have improved moreso than he has in general, but being a late game iso scorer was never on the table.

Then he needs to be traded for one, because it's the difference between this team's being a perennial playoff frustration and a championship contender.

The stuff that Ben Simmons is apparently "not" has consequences.

Maybe, depends on how good of a version of that you can get, and also whether you can get someone without moving him so that you're creating a new hole for the team.

I mean, clearly you're not getting an elite version of that player in a trade for him. That opportunity is off the table.

Maybe you can get Beal. Not sure that really changes the ceiling of this team though.

[Iverson Armband]

This!

I don't even know where these misplaced expectations game from. I expected him to have improved moreso than he has in general, but being a late game iso scorer was never on the table.

Then he needs to be traded for one, because it's the difference between this team's being a perennial playoff frustration and a championship contender.

The stuff that Ben Simmons is apparently "not" has consequences.

Or trade other stuff for that like the Nets just did.

They tried doing it with getting fultz and getting butler, the latter of which almost worked and might have had they stuck with it. Morey is building up the asset base and hopefully at some point they can make another move like that. Or maybe trading Simmons makes sense at some point. We’ll see, in the meantime they’re pretty good.

Morey said it himself, championship or bust.

This team is like the Milwaukee team of the past few years. Great in the regular season which is fine, but when the playoffs come around, it’s likely they lose for the same reasons those Bucks teams did. The end of the Lakers game was pretty much a foreshadow to that. The question isn’t whether this is a good team, it’s whether they can win a championship. That doesn’t make people haters, it’s just reality.

[Winejk]

Ummmm is this a sarcastic post???

Is he joking???

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Of all the people who would land a punch, it would be Korkmaz? lol. Just stop going to his twitter.

If this indeed happened, LeBusta deserved it.

What pissed me off is he didn't even try to pick Joel up, instead he walked away like nothing happened.

Busta.

Of course Lebron just walked away. His first reaction is to run to the refs to complain whenever he's called for a foul. He has no time to help Embiid up.

[Sixerscan]

Then he needs to be traded for one, because it's the difference between this team's being a perennial playoff frustration and a championship contender.

The stuff that Ben Simmons is apparently "not" has consequences.

Or trade other stuff for that like the Nets just did.

They tried doing it with getting fultz and getting butler, the latter of which almost worked and might have had they stuck with it. Morey is building up the asset base and hopefully at some point they can make another move like that. Or maybe trading Simmons makes sense at some point. We’ll see, in the meantime they’re pretty good.

Morey said it himself, championship or bust.

This team is like the Milwaukee team of the past few years. Great in the regular season which is fine, but when the playoffs come around, it’s likely they lose for the same reasons those Bucks teams did. The end of the Lakers game was pretty much a foreshadow to that. The question isn’t whether this is a good team, it’s whether they can win a championship. That doesn’t make people haters, it’s just reality.

Yeah that’s why I said hopefully they make a trade...

[blargh]

The story of this game is super simple to me. For most of the game, Embiid was an inside force that the Lakers had no answer for. For the last five minutes, he was a gimpy-backed decoy standing 30’ from the hoop.

Its true that Simmons didn’t play well at the end, but it’s ultimately secondary.

[Snotbubbles]

Score 105-93 with 3:07 left.
Caruso makes a layup 105-95.
Embiid turns the ball over.
Caruso makes a 3. 105-98.
Curry misses a 3.
Schroeder makes a 3. 105-101.
Embiid misses a 3ft shot. Tobias Harris with an offensive foul.
Caldwell-Pope makes a 3. 105-104.
Embiid misses an 18ft shot. Danny Green rebound, misses a 3.
Davis makes a layup. 106-105.
In the last three minutes, Embiid missed two shots and had a turnover and the guy Simmons was guarding had 0 points. Result: Ben Simmons sucks.

Also just want to reframe that it's not at all unusual for a team to be pretty blah on 5 straight possessions, what was unusual about this stretch was the Lakers scoring 15 points in like 6 possessions. That'd be like a 250ortg.

I know we sucked and played timid on offense and whatnot, but the Lakers (and Lebron) are really good and everything came together for them right there. Our defense wasn't especially horrible, Caruso got a 3 off a broken loose ball, KCP hit a well contested tough 3, Schroeder drilled a long 3 (defensive rotation was v bad on that though), Davis made the layup off that clever Schroeder pick. Even before that the Lakers were mostly just hitting tough shots and barely missed over the last 6 minutes of the game.

Totally agree. I said in one of my later posts, Doc Rivers lineup decision at the end of the game to have Seth Curry on the court instead of Thybulle partially contributed to the outcome at the end. Example, Seth Curry switched with Harris on Pope and just missed Lebron's pass on Pope's 3. If that's Thybulle there, the pass is probably stolen.

[Snotbubbles]

1. Drew KCP is a stretch. KCP did not even move because he knew Simmons has no intention to score. Even AD's drop is so far. By the time Curry catches the pass, KCP is already ready to contest.



2. Green was not open for a three in the corner. The more viable option was to pass the ball to Harris because he is being guarded by Caruso just like the game winner.

Your still shots are a total misrepresentation of what happened on the plays. On the Curry play, Pope was tight to Curry in the corner as Curry moved to angle, Pope starts creeping in towards the elbow. When Simmons makes it to the foul line, Pope makes a a jab move towards Simmons then Simmons passed. So Pope's momentum was going toward Simmons at the pass. Curry had two options then, immediately shoot or blow by. He tried to blow by but stopped and then retreated to the three. That play is on Curry.

Same thing with Green. He had the same options as Curry and made the same bad decision. Both guys were open to take the shot. Both guys chose to put the ball on the floor. Both guys stopped their penetration and retreated towards the 3pt line to take a much more difficult shot. Both guys had more than enough time to do something better than what they ended up doing.

Another culprit is Doc Rivers. There is not sense having Curry in the game at that point. You don't need buckets. Put Thybulle in for defense. In the alternative, you could put Milton in for another ball handler and a person who can create his own shot with dribble penetration. Getting fouled and shooting free throws stops the momentum. Hopefully Doc will learn from this and make adjustments to his rotation in the future.

I don't think you know the definition of an open shot. It is not open when a defender is already ready to contest when you are about to shoot it. Yes, it was slightly open before the pass but as you know defenders in the NBA can close that gap in less than a second.

If you are still insisting your argument even after posting screenshots of the play that actually happened, then I don't have anything else to say.

I guess this is a close to getting you to admit that Curry and Green were open and should have taken the shot immediately instead of dribble penetrating, retreating and then taking a shot from the same place but instead of being set and "slightly open" (ha ha ha), they have now allowed their man to recover to where they are now contested. This is the NBA, there is no such thing as "slightly open". You either are open or you aren't open.

[Snotbubbles]

Score 105-93 with 3:07 left.

Caruso makes a layup 105-95.
Embiid turns the ball over.
Caruso makes a 3. 105-98.
Curry misses a 3.
Schroeder makes a 3. 105-101.
Embiid misses a 3ft shot. Tobias Harris with an offensive foul.
Caldwell-Pope makes a 3. 105-104.
Embiid misses an 18ft shot. Danny Green rebound, misses a 3.
Davis makes a layup. 106-105.

In the last three minutes, Embiid missed two shots and had a turnover and the guy Simmons was guarding had 0 points. Result: Ben Simmons sucks.

What you don't see in the play-by-play above is "Simmons dribble penetrates to the hoop and scores, draws a foul, or dishes to someone (preferably Embiid) for a layup."

So yes, within the context of that game situation and what the team needs from him in such situations, he was bad. He's incapable of operating as the closer the team needs in such situations, and that's a function of his lack of development as a player.

The ball should not be dumped down to Embiid in the post in those situations. The ball should stay at the top of the arc in Simmons's hands where he can't be double-teamed, and he should then function much like Giannis as a dribble penetrator and shooter or passer. The result should be either a high-percentage shot by Simmons or someone he passes the ball to, or a drawn shooting foul.

Did it not irk this guy that he was asked to hand the ball off to Jimmy Bulter to function in that way in the clutch of nearly every 2019 playoff game? Why has he not developed his game to function in that way since then?

On the Curry play, Simmons had Anthony Davis guarding him with Caldwell-Pope cheating towards the paint. So he would have had to split a double team and challenge Davis at the rim had he been able to do so. That isn't a high percentage play. He couldn't dump the ball down to Embiid because Embiid was standing at the 3pt line with Schroeder on him. His only play was to pull Pope towards him and then pass to Curry who was open. Sorry, someone said he was only "slightly open". That's what he did.

On the Green play, after Green rebounded the ball, Embiid spent the entire rest of the possession standing where the coaches stand at the hash mark totally disengaged from the play. Simmons has Caruso on him. Harris sets a screen and allows Lebron to cover him. Simmons options at that point, drive on Lebron and try and draw a foul, pass the ball to Harris who had Caruso all over him or pass the ball to Danny Green who was open for a three. I'm sorry, I keep getting this wrong, Green was only "slightly open".

If the Sixers had any BBIQ they would have identified who Caruso and Schroeder were guarding (usually Simmons and Green) and clear out the court and allow those two players to play a pick and roll game. Instead, the Sixers used Embiid to screen one time to allow Davis to switch onto Simmons. A pick and roll might have worked since Embiid then had Schroeder on him, but Embiid decided that instead of rolling, stepping back to the three point line was a better option. The second time, Harris set a screen to allow Lebron to switch onto Simmons. Once Harris sees James on him, he should immediately clear out. He didn't.

No it didn't irk me that the Sixers gave Jimmy Butler the ball in end game situations. He was really good in those situations.

[Ferry Avenue]

Score 105-93 with 3:07 left.

Caruso makes a layup 105-95.
Embiid turns the ball over.
Caruso makes a 3. 105-98.
Curry misses a 3.
Schroeder makes a 3. 105-101.
Embiid misses a 3ft shot. Tobias Harris with an offensive foul.
Caldwell-Pope makes a 3. 105-104.
Embiid misses an 18ft shot. Danny Green rebound, misses a 3.
Davis makes a layup. 106-105.

In the last three minutes, Embiid missed two shots and had a turnover and the guy Simmons was guarding had 0 points. Result: Ben Simmons sucks.

What you don't see in the play-by-play above is "Simmons dribble penetrates to the hoop and scores, draws a foul, or dishes to someone (preferably Embiid) for a layup."

So yes, within the context of that game situation and what the team needs from him in such situations, he was bad. He's incapable of operating as the closer the team needs in such situations, and that's a function of his lack of development as a player.

The ball should not be dumped down to Embiid in the post in those situations. The ball should stay at the top of the arc in Simmons's hands where he can't be double-teamed, and he should then function much like Giannis as a dribble penetrator and shooter or passer. The result should be either a high-percentage shot by Simmons or someone he passes the ball to, or a drawn shooting foul.

Did it not irk this guy that he was asked to hand the ball off to Jimmy Bulter to function in that way in the clutch of nearly every 2019 playoff game? Why has he not developed his game to function in that way since then?

No it didn't irk me that the Sixers gave Jimmy Butler the ball in end game situations. He was really good in those situations.

I wasn't meaning to ask whether it irked you (the poster above) -- I was meaning to ask whether it irked Ben Simmons and inspired him to develop his game. Apparently it hasn't.

[HotelVitale]

What you don't see in the play-by-play above is "Simmons dribble penetrates to the hoop and scores, draws a foul, or dishes to someone (preferably Embiid) for a layup." So yes, within the context of that game situation and what the team needs from him in such situations, he was bad. He's incapable of operating as the closer the team needs in such situations, and that's a function of his lack of development as a player. The ball should not be dumped down to Embiid in the post in those situations. The ball should stay at the top of the arc in Simmons's hands where he can't be double-teamed, and he should then function much like Giannis as a dribble penetrator and shooter or passer. The result should be either a high-percentage shot by Simmons or someone he passes the ball to, or a drawn shooting foul. Did it not irk this guy that he was asked to hand the ball off to Jimmy Bulter to function in that way in the clutch of nearly every 2019 playoff game? Why has he not developed his game to function in that way since then?

No it didn't irk me that the Sixers gave Jimmy Butler the ball in end game situations. He was really good in those situations.

I wasn't meaning to ask whether it irked you (the poster above) -- I was meaning to ask whether it irked Ben Simmons and inspired him to develop his game. Apparently it hasn't.

One thing that I always try to keep in mind is that Simmons is a really competitive and proud person, so things like that should have motivated him to work hard at getting better in those situations. And I honestly think they have, and that he's put in a lot of hours in practice and training to improve in those exact scenarios. I just don't think he can get himself there mentally and physically, the things that good drivers pick up on and implement into their games just haven't come to him. It's a lot about footwork, angles, and pacing/change of speed, it's not easy stuff and he just can't seem to get there. Doesn't make any more sense to him than the crazy passes he makes make sense to like Poirier or Tony Bradley.

I really like following draft prospects as they progress in the league, and this is nothing unusual or shameful. Same way that some players improve their shooting vastly in their first 1.5 seasons in the league while others still can't hit half their FTs after 8 years of constant daily training, some players can pick up NBA-style driving and make it an intuitive part of their game and others can't. Happens to all of us, I'm sure there was something you all just couldn't get down as middle school/HS athletes or whenever.

[76ciology]

Talent is abundant out there, why punish yourself.

End the suffering.