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“Ben Simmons is great, I want him back”: Doc Rivers Doesn’t Want To Trade His DPOY Contender Despite Shooting Struggles

Ashish Priyadarshi
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Ben Simmons

Ben Simmons was run off the court for his woeful shooting performance against the Atlanta Hawks, costing the 76ers their series.

However, despite his struggles from the charity stripe and his almost unnatural fear of taking a jumpshot, Philadelphia Head Coach Doc Rivers has made no mistake of his intentions with Ben Simmons. He wants the DPOY contender back.

He wants to improve Simmons’ game and make sure that the former All Star can reach the potential he has. Rivers also claims that Simmons’ shot doesn’t need much improving.

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Doc River Trusts Ben Simmons To Turn His Game Around, Wants The Philly Star Back

Simmons was once seen as the perfect fit alongside Joel Embiid. A defensive point guard who could pose mismatches with his size and facilitate the ball? Say less.

Simmons and Embiid thrived together during the regular season as they both finished as All Stars this year (with Embiid being the MVP runner up) and tore apart the East, finishing with the best record in the conference.

Things finally looked they were going to work out for Philadelphia. They cruised past the Wizards in the first round of the playoffs and Simmons looked genuinely good. He averaged nearly a triple double while shooting 64% from the field.

While he kept his shooting percentage up, Simmons did not display the same kind of aggressive mentality that he had in the Wizards series against the Hawks. He missed free throws, dodged jump shots, and even avoided shooting a critical open layup.

Something seemed off, and it was clear that Simmons was nowhere near to playing the role he was expected to: a co-star. That went to Seth Curry instead.

However, Rivers still wants Simmons back, and he doesn’t think that his jump shot needs too much tweaking. Trade rumors have connected Simmons to multiple players including CJ McCollum or even Damian Lillard, but for now, it looks like Doc Rivers wants to keep Simmons around.

Also Read: “Prime Michael Jordan would have 40 points a night in today’s league”: ESPN’s Tim Legler believes that the Chicago Bulls GOAT would lead today’s league in scoring

About the author

Ashish Priyadarshi

Ashish Priyadarshi

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Ashish Priyadarshi is The SportsRush's content manager and editor. Ashish freelanced for 1 year in the NFL division before taking on an editorial role in the company. He then tacked on managing content while adding on a writing role in the NBA division. Ashish has been closely following the NFL and NBA since the 2012 season when the Patriots lost the Super Bowl and Derrick Rose was at the height of his powers. Since then, Ashish has focused on honing his knowledge for both leagues in, even writing crossover pieces. In his free time, Ashish is an avid basketball player, he loves to watch movies and TV shows, immersing himself in the cinematic world. Ashish studies computer science and data science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and would love to mesh his love for sports with his technical skills.

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