Liam Simmons, Ben Simmons’s brother, liked several tweets that heavily criticized Sixer personnel such as Joel Embiid and Doc Rivers.
The Philadelphia 76ers underachieved in the postseason yet again as they failed to get further than the second round for the fourth consecutive year in a row. Their epic collapse to the Atlanta Hawks can be attributed to several factors. Whether it was Ben Simmons and lack of offensive talent or Joel Embiid and his injury, the Sixers were dealt the short end of the stick once more when it mattered most.
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Ben Simmons, in particular, has been getting torched every which way by NBA fans and media alike as they look back at his abysmal series against the Hawks. He attempted merely 3 field goals in the fourth quarters of all 6 games against Trae Young and company. That is a total of 72 minutes that resulted in a max player shooting the ball thrice within that period.
Ben Simmons and his hesitance to shoot the ball proved detrimental to Sixers and Joel Embiid and Doc Rivers hinted towards his failure to step up in the post-game pressers following Game 7. While Embiid claimed the turning point for the Sixers was Ben passing up a wide open dunk late in the fourth in Game 7, Rivers said he didn’t know if the Australian native was a championship caliber point guard or not.
Liam Simmons backs up Ben Simmons and likes tweets throwing blame onto Joel Embiid.
Liam Simmons, who is Ben’s brother and shooting coach, liked a string of tweets that directly put the blame onto Joel Embiid and Doc Rivers for the Sixers underperforming. Liam liked a tweet that read, “You don’t want to play with this guy. He ain’t team.” This tweet was in reference to Embiid during his Game 7 post-game presser.
You don’t want to play with this guy. He ain’t team. https://t.co/o8oypmcYJp
— Dave Hughes (@DHughesy) June 21, 2021
Another tweet he liked was one that claimed Ben Simmons cannot be confident with his shot when he’s surrounded by guys who don’t support him even through tough times. This is referring to the aforementioned Joel Embiid and Doc Rivers post Game 7 pressers where they subtly took shots at Simmons.
People killing Ben Simmons on this app, but don’t recognise that the teams star player and coach haven’t even backed him in the post-season press conference.
How can a guy have confidence in his game with that bullshit happening?
— Stevie Cozens (@StevieCozens) June 21, 2021
With Liam Simmons being Ben’s brother and more importantly (in the context of the Sixers progressing forward) his shooting coach, it’s time that him and Ben Simmons get down to brass tacks. Liking tweets is one thing but getting in the gym and improving on your craft is another. If Ben doesn’t help the Sixers’ offense, he’ll find himself on the trading block before the start of next season.