The Curious Case of Benjamin Simmons

The Philadelphia 76ers have endured another devastating playoff loss. This team was the number one seed and were poised to at least make the Eastern Conference Finals. However, they were bounced in the second-round by the Atlanta Hawks. The biggest takeaway from that series loss has led to one man; Ben Simmons. This man was supposed to be a future superstar of this league. He was going to be the next LeBron. Now, the fans in Philadelphia want him gone. What happened to Ben Simmons?

“Trade Ben Simmons” and boos

This is terrible pic.twitter.com/7kCa5WEyfe

— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) June 21, 2021

Simmons is an excellent talent and has the accolades to prove he is a great player already in his young career. Three All-Star Appearances, two All-Defensive first team selections, Rookie of the Year winner in 2018, and a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year are all on his resume. We have seen what he is capable of and expected him to be on the greats in the next generation. Despite the amount of success he has in regards of awards; most of us are out on him as a future star. It has only been four years. How can things change so fast?

Photo courtesy of The Boston Globe

Scared of the Moment

The lasting memory in what could be his final game in a 76ers uniform is the dunk that was passed up. Simmons made a great move in the post and looked like he was going to rise up for emphatic slam. However, he simply did not do that. Instead, he passed it directly to Mattise Thybulle as he was not expecting the pass at all. The only person that was there to contest the dunk was Trae Young. Simmons has around nine inches in height on Young. I saw the fans in that arena become so appalled and disgusted by his lack of aggression. Even his teammates were confused. In a game 7, at home, we saw a player that was in his head so much that he became scared of the moment.

Ben Simmons did not just pass this up… pic.twitter.com/4JyM7ZHNkJ

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 21, 2021

This isn’t the first time he has shied away from big games. There was his one point performance against the Boston Celtics back in the 2018 playoffs. The whole series against the Toronto Raptors in 2019 was a disaster. Now we come back to 2021 and the same problems manifested themselves. He was timid in every fourth quarter and simply did not want the ball most of the game. Simmons was practically designated to handoff to Seth Curry, set a screen or two, and stand in the dunker spot with no expectations to score. The moment can be too big for some players. We have seen a history of this in the NBA. For instance, Nick Anderson in the 90s after his collapse in the 1995 NBA Finals. James Harden has been the latest example of shrinking in the big moments. Perhaps, Simmons falls into this category of players.

 Does He Care?

To be transparent, I am from Philadelphia. However, I am not a 76ers fan, but most of my friends are. After game 7, they were completely stunned. It was as if someone had died. The first thing each of them had to say about the game and series pertained to Ben Simmons. For years, they would defend him and proclaim about all of the great things he has done. His potential is unmatched and the idea of what he could be is scary to the rest of the league.

We are entering year five of Simmons and the same what if questions are still being asked. What if he can shoot? What if he was aggressive? The question nobody wants to ask is what if he cared. I do not want to bash Simmons and say the man does not want to be out there. Defense is about effort and the man might be the best on-ball defender in the league today. However, I can’t help to think that he doesn’t care sometimes.

A day after the 76ers were upset by the Hawks, Yaron Weitzman of Fox Sports, wrote an article about Simmons and his playoff struggles. The article even had quotes from Simmons himself about his play and how he interprets it. He was asked about his game and why the playoffs seem to be different for him. His reply is very telling as to how he thinks.

Simmons said: How many assists I have? I mean, I feel like I found my guys tonight, which I do in the regular season regardless.”

He follows that up by also saying:

“What did Trae shoot?”

Trae Young struggled that game shooting 5-23. However, Young and the Hawks won that game. He was never going to stop attacking. He wanted to win more than anyone on that court. Can the same be said about Simmons?

Cover photo courtesy of TheRinger.com