Philadelphia 76ers: Will Ben Simmons have a jump shot this year?
Virtually unstoppable last season without a jump shot, Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons can take his game to the next level with the addition of a consistent stroke from deep.
Philadelphia 76ers ROOKIE sensation Ben Simmons is highly regarded as one of the best young players in the current NBA. Last year, Simmons took home the NBA Rookie of the Year Award and averaged a near triple-double, guiding his team to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.
A former first overall pick in the 2016 draft, one of the only knocks on Simmons coming into the league was his inability to shoot the ball from outside. In his rookie year, Simmons didn’t attempt a three in-game other than full-court heaves at the end of a quarter.
Although it didn’t hurt him too much last season, as he averaged 16 points per game on 55 percent shooting from the field, teams started to learn how to better defend Simmons as the year went on and the stakes grew higher.
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In the 76ers playoff series against the Boston Celtics, Simmons struggled mightily against head coaching mastermind Brad Stevens, and had his infamous one-point game in a Game 2 loss. All season, defenders would sag off Simmons and pray for him to take shots from outside, but Simmons still had the speed, strength and craftiness to blow by them and score around the cup. However, this was not the case against the likes of Celtics’ big men Aron Baynes and Al Horford in the Boston series.
Ben Simmons needs a jump shot. Adding a consistent outside shot to his game can literally make him one of the best players in the NBA as well as better the Philadelphia 76ers as a team. But will this jump shot come as early as next season?
Will Simmons have a jump shot this year?
It’s not easy to revolutionize a jump shot that has never really been present in one offseason. There is still deep speculation over if Ben Simmons is even shooting with the correct hand, considering his uncanny ambidextrous ability with the basketball at both clutches.
Markelle Fultz has garnered a lot of attention and hype this offseason concerning his jumper after he began working with elite shooting coach Drew Hanlen. Fellow teammate and star big man for the Philadelphia 76ers Joel Embiid convinced Fultz to work with Hanlen and Pure Sweat Basketball this offseason, and it seems to be paying dividends.
Simmons on the other hand has had very minimal attention this summer aside from some rumblings with new flame Kendall Jenner and taking home the NBA Rookie of the Year award.
No videos or encouraging signs of Simmons shooting from three-point land or even mid-range have surfaced on Instagram or Twitter, which could mean nothing, but is also a tad bit concerning. Simmons is in dire need of developing a serviceable shot, and nothing is showing signs of change for Philadelphia 76ers fans next year.
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The bottom line is, nothing can even be speculated in regards to Simmons and his jump shot until preseason and training camps commence. There are severe implications for the Philadelphia 76ers, both good and bad, depending on Simmons’ ability to shoot the ball this year.
If Simmons is still struggling as much as last year to shoot the basketball, that is a sign of concern for Philadelphia 76ers fans. This doesn’t mean that he won’t put up similar numbers as last year for the regular season, but he most likely will still struggle against the likes of the rival Boston Celtics in the playoffs.
Other teams around the league now have had an offseason to prepare for Simmons’ generational style of play he showcased in his first season, and with the amount of scouting that is done in the NBA, teams may begin to adjust.
It doesn’t particularly help that the Philadelphia 76ers take on the Celtics on the first game day of the year on national television at TD Garden either, where fans are known to heckle Simmons. The dream would be to see Ben take the opening tip and drain a three on the first play of the season, because that might mean an NBA Finals appearance could be in the works for the 76ers next year, but only time will tell.
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Nonetheless, Simmons is still young at just 22 years old, and has an ample amount of time to develop his jumper at the NBA level. The earlier the better.