Important factors in Sixers-Hawks Game 7: Ben Simmons
Contempt has festered within the Sixers fanbase for Ben Simmons and his play over the last three games. In Game 5, Simmons took only four shots and went 4-for-14 from the charity stripe as Philadelphia gave up a 26-point lead. In Game 6, an elimination game with plenty of bulletin board material at his disposal, Simmons scored six points on 2-for-6 shooting.
Simmons’ impact has long extended well outside the box score. He does not need to drop 30 to positively impact the game. What he does need, however, is a mean streak. A level of aggressiveness that has been absent all series. The Hawks do not have great individual defenders to combat Simmons, and yet he is totally useless for long stretches of play. It’s unacceptable.
Atlanta has successfully deployed the Hack-a-Ben strategy, which has thus far sent Simmons spiraling. Not only is he struggling from the line, but he’s letting those struggles percolate into the rest of his game. Simmons won’t even touch the ball in the fourth quarter because he’s scared of the charity stripe. It’s hard to win crunch time playing 4-on-5.
At some point, Simmons needs to find the next gear. He’s still a great player, and someone who can help the Sixers in Game 7. His defense on Trae Young is critical, while his fit as a point center surrounded by shooters (if Doc takes my rotation advice) could breed interesting new wrinkles offensively when Embiid is out of the game.
Rivers only played Simmons 25 minutes in Game 6. Some of that was foul trouble, but he also benched the All-Star for much of the fourth quarter. When Simmons checked back in with under two minutes, he was predictably reluctant to touch the ball. If the current trends continue, Rivers may need to scratch Simmons out of the fourth quarter gameplan once more.