The Philadelphia 76ers need Ben Simmons at his best in Game 4.
After a brutal week, the Philadelphia 76ers find themselves on the brink of elimination. No team has ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit, and the Sixers’ odds of doing so aren’t all that high. They still have the ability to compete, though.
There were plenty of people who dubbed the Sixers heavy favorites coming into the series. Even in a bad matchup, the talent edge is fairly clear. Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons are the best individual players on the court, while the Sixers’ shooters — when shots are falling — are difficult to handle.
I don’t expect the Sixers to win this series. I don’t think anybody should. But this is a learning experience, and they still have a chance to make some noise at home in Game 4. That starts and ends with Simmons.
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The Sixers’ rookie point guard has struggled consistently in this series, reaching his lowest point with a one-point, five-turnover outing in Game 2. The Celtics’ defense has done an excellent job defending him, showing him different looks and locking down some of the passing lanes he normally exploits.
A lot of Simmons’ struggles have been his own doing, though. You can tell he’s overthinking things, something he admitted after his Game 2 dud. He’s being far too passive, avoiding drives to the rim and struggling to generate his own offense.
There were multiple times in Game 3 where Simmons had either Terry Rozier or Shane Larkin switched onto him and he failed to attack the mismatch. Those should be easy baskets almost every time. If not, there’s normally somebody leaving his man to play help defense.
Either way, Simmons is capable of making something happen in those scenarios.
The Sixers’ offense is heavily dependent on pace. We’ve seen them struggle when things slow down and Embiid plays iso ball. They need to get out and run the floor whenever possible, which starts with Simmons. Dribble penetration is also a nice way to kickstart offensive possessions.
There has been a lot of slack sent in Ben’s direction lately, and rightfully so. He hasn’t looked good.
Still, even with obvious struggles, he’s a special talent who’s capable of putting together a big game when he’s in the right state of mind. The Sixers need to make a point to get Simmons going early in Game 4, whether it be designed plays or simply getting Simmons to go into attack mode.
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The game starts at 6 PM E.T. in South Philly.