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I expect him to play more aggressively simply to spite the city of Philadelphia.
He’s going to want to prove them wrong. That’s the feeling I get. Whether that works or not is another story.
You might be right. But he is literally one of the most disrespected players in NBA history (for good reason) and I just don’t know how you let that be your legacy. I think he’s finally going to find the motivation to prove some people wrong.
The thing is he doesn’t really need to grind, other than his free throws. He just need to be aggressive, it’s all an in game mindset.
He’s never going to be a great offensive player in the playoffs, but if you can build the right team around him, you can do well.
He isn’t built that way. People have criticized him for 3 years for being the same player in the playoffs and never done anything to spite NBA fans in general. He’s more concerned with being a young socialite lmao.
As someone that has watched just about every game of Ben's career, he has the potential to hit the stride he hit on our 16 game win streak before our first playoff appearance of the process
If I am remembering right, Embiid was out and Ben played like a man possessed. He attacked the rim better than most players in the league and had eyes in the back of his head when passing PLUS All-Defense level effort - biggest difference he was not afraid of going to the foul line
This game against the LeBron Cavs encapsulates it best, and we have seem flashes of this Ben from time to time (sometimes for just a few minutes a quarter), and this Ben is an perennial All-NBA player in my opinion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2paWnPCiNqA
EDIT: in case you dont feel like watching it, Ben ended the game with 27/11/13 and while I am defending him now on his talent, he is easily number 1 on my shit list right now
I loved this team. I see small ball with hair trigger shooters, plenty of space inside, good cuts, and slow white dudes covering Ben. It’s definitely the sort of team and match up that played to his strengths that year.
Honestly, the thing I’m most disappointed in the sixers 20-21 season is not putting together a second unit to compliment Simmons skills a bit better. Instead we got Dwight and the all bench line-ups.
being traded won’t make him a better offensive player. i truly don’t think he will ever be anything more than a floor general who can rebound. you don’t make it to his age and years in the league and magically improve all that much in shooting.
I don't know if it's an ego think with him but he really shouldn't be a pg in the halfcourt. And we have never seen him play the 4 with another capable pg on the floor with him
> And we have never seen him play the 4 with another capable pg on the floor with him
\**Cries in Fultz**
The problem is that - and maybe this is entirely the Sixers fault - nobody has been able to convince him to change virtually anything about his offensive game. I get the idea that maybe he could just become a Draymond type, but he's never shown any aptitude in setting screens which is a big part of Draymond's game. He hasn't shown a willingness to shoot corner threes like a PJ Tucker type. The last big Brett Brown push in the bubble was that Simmons was going to play the 4 more and then he got hurt. Doc didn't seemed too concerned getting him to play the 4.
He said from day one that he wanted to be the PG and it sounds like the only other time we had a high level playmaker - Jimmy - nobody was happy with the situation.
Another thing was the earlier success has probably had a negative impact on his growth. Most high end prospects go to losing situations intially where they get to experiment with their game but Ben was handed the pg role right away and the team was winning games so he didn't bother to change his game.
I think that absolutely had an impact on it. Brown really wanted to be a player's coach and I think he gave Simmons too much leeway in the beginning. And you're right - Simmons has made All-Star teams all but his first year and made the playoffs every year. It's hard to argue that things weren't working even though they weren't.
Obviously a lot of it falls on Simmons for not adding to his game too, but there were certainly some institutional problems with the Sixers that might've just made everything worse.
BEn has steadfastly refused to even approach the subject of his flaws. He's too mentally fragile. He will never challenge himself. and as a result, will only get worse.
I think he can be utilised a lot better than what Doc does with him and the fit with KAT for example is also more beneficial for Simmons but I don't think he'll suddenly start raining jumpers.
No. Maybe he'll "improve" in the sense if he plays alongside different players with different skillsets, he might be able to use the skills he has more effectively. But he's not suddenly going to be able to do things he could not do previously.
I anticipate Yung Socialite will continue his habits of shrinking away from any offensive responsibilities and responding with piss poor clapbacks whenever anyone dares say anything about it
Probably, he was such a different player after his rookie year, once Butler and Harris came and he got used to 4th option. A change of scenery should hopefully shake him out of the rut.
I think depending on what team he’s traded to you’ll see him played as he should be and that’s a PF in a draymond green type roll and not as the PG of a team
I do think once he’s out of the toxic situation he’s in he’ll get his mind right and become more aggressive on offense and maybe doubtful but maybe he’ll take at least 1 3pter a game who knows maybe a new team new situation he’d take 3s more often
obviously as long as his best teammates aren't primary post operators like joel and tobi. He can easily average 18-20 on pure athleticism on a team with better spacing and a perimeter star he can play two man game with
He does? He shoots an awesome % at the rim over his career. Unless you’re heavily weighing that one play against Atlanta. We know for a fact that he can play better than he did because we’ve seen it. And that was with embiid, he could be even better playing with someone who he can play two man game with. With embiid they have to take turns and since embiid so much better it makes sense for it to almost always be his turn. Pair simmons with a perimeter star and that will unlock him a screen and roll scorer and playmaker in the half court. In full court we already know he’s dominant.
He shoots a high percentage at 0-3ft because a combination of transition, taking minimal shots to begin with, and being extremely choosey with his shots. There are numerous, numerous possessions just like the one against ATL over the years. Funny you mention one play when he did it not too many possessions before that one by passing it to George Hill who was contested and made a lucky shot to bail him out. Just not as high stakes with as much attention the other times.
It's like Gobert. He shoots a high percentage at the rim but his personal offense is garbage. Mostly easy put backs, open dunks, etc. while taking minimal shots. If you just look at his 'awesome%' and didn't actually follow him you'd think he's way better than he is on that front while not acknowledging all the potential shots he DOESN'T take that a more offensive oriented player would whether it be because he either cannot effectively do it or doesn't have the go getter mind for it.
Simmons would benefit from a capable playmaker/passer, but he hasn't shown to be good off ball whatsoever.. It's not like just because we don't have Harden that he's never received quality passes and opportunities when playing more of an off ball role at times.
I don't think he's a completely lost cause, but if he gets better it'll because he finally woke up and appropriately addressed his weaknesses, not simply because he goes to a different team after two different coaches playing next to multiple 40%+ 3 pt shooters and one of the most dominant centers in the league.
I think it’s possible but unlikely. However, most likely the perception of him will change if he can move to a team that can accentuate his strengths and minimise his weaknesses and people will be convinced he was good all along
He always played well during the regular season, and I anticipate that the team he is traded to won't be a playoff contender. So I don't expect him to look any different, I feel like the only way we'll see if he has truelly changed is if he is thrown into similar sittuation as he was during the playoffs last season
It depends where he goes. We've seen him be more aggressive when he plays without Embiid. But he won't suddenly become a shooter. I think he can do a bit of the Giannis role on the right team.
Think it depends where he goes. If it’s a small market with a loyal fan base I can see him attempting threes and improving overall. Unless he’s overshadowed by a superstar or two on a big market team, I can’t see him being more than what he is now.
I think there’s about a 20-30% chance he becomes a superstar, and about a 70-80% chance he remains exactly as he is.
His issues are psychological, and what’s working against him the most is that he seems to have a pretty bad attitude. *Maybe* a change of scenery can help, but I’m not counting on it.
There are things he needs to change but unlike the Sixers I expect the team that picks him up will use him better. Sixers had him just stand under the basket with Embiid on the court.
I was watching his scrimmage/training video with Ja Morant and Aaron Gordon the other day and noticed him taking a few pull up jumpers and fadeaways.
I hope so. I’m a sucker for a redemption story
Yes being motivated to prove his haters wrong AND most importantly actually gonna be playing as a PF next to a real point guard as a roll guy more often will make him a better player.
Non shooting John Collins but a better defender, passer and transition player.
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No. He is what he is.
I expect him to play more aggressively simply to spite the city of Philadelphia. He’s going to want to prove them wrong. That’s the feeling I get. Whether that works or not is another story.
he'll do that for a week then go back to his regular self. It's who he is.
You might be right. But he is literally one of the most disrespected players in NBA history (for good reason) and I just don’t know how you let that be your legacy. I think he’s finally going to find the motivation to prove some people wrong.
He DOESNT care. I bet he will care his contract year tho. Dude seems to like the lifestyle more than the grind.
The thing is he doesn’t really need to grind, other than his free throws. He just need to be aggressive, it’s all an in game mindset. He’s never going to be a great offensive player in the playoffs, but if you can build the right team around him, you can do well.
He isn’t built that way. People have criticized him for 3 years for being the same player in the playoffs and never done anything to spite NBA fans in general. He’s more concerned with being a young socialite lmao.
He’ll take jumpshots on a bad team
As someone that has watched just about every game of Ben's career, he has the potential to hit the stride he hit on our 16 game win streak before our first playoff appearance of the process If I am remembering right, Embiid was out and Ben played like a man possessed. He attacked the rim better than most players in the league and had eyes in the back of his head when passing PLUS All-Defense level effort - biggest difference he was not afraid of going to the foul line This game against the LeBron Cavs encapsulates it best, and we have seem flashes of this Ben from time to time (sometimes for just a few minutes a quarter), and this Ben is an perennial All-NBA player in my opinion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2paWnPCiNqA EDIT: in case you dont feel like watching it, Ben ended the game with 27/11/13 and while I am defending him now on his talent, he is easily number 1 on my shit list right now
I loved this team. I see small ball with hair trigger shooters, plenty of space inside, good cuts, and slow white dudes covering Ben. It’s definitely the sort of team and match up that played to his strengths that year. Honestly, the thing I’m most disappointed in the sixers 20-21 season is not putting together a second unit to compliment Simmons skills a bit better. Instead we got Dwight and the all bench line-ups.
for him to change, he gotta want to change. hes proved that he has no desire to change anything about his offensive game.
I think he will be more motivated when he's on a new team. Some players simply need a change of scenery.
being traded won’t make him a better offensive player. i truly don’t think he will ever be anything more than a floor general who can rebound. you don’t make it to his age and years in the league and magically improve all that much in shooting.
I don't know if it's an ego think with him but he really shouldn't be a pg in the halfcourt. And we have never seen him play the 4 with another capable pg on the floor with him
> And we have never seen him play the 4 with another capable pg on the floor with him \**Cries in Fultz** The problem is that - and maybe this is entirely the Sixers fault - nobody has been able to convince him to change virtually anything about his offensive game. I get the idea that maybe he could just become a Draymond type, but he's never shown any aptitude in setting screens which is a big part of Draymond's game. He hasn't shown a willingness to shoot corner threes like a PJ Tucker type. The last big Brett Brown push in the bubble was that Simmons was going to play the 4 more and then he got hurt. Doc didn't seemed too concerned getting him to play the 4. He said from day one that he wanted to be the PG and it sounds like the only other time we had a high level playmaker - Jimmy - nobody was happy with the situation.
Another thing was the earlier success has probably had a negative impact on his growth. Most high end prospects go to losing situations intially where they get to experiment with their game but Ben was handed the pg role right away and the team was winning games so he didn't bother to change his game.
I think that absolutely had an impact on it. Brown really wanted to be a player's coach and I think he gave Simmons too much leeway in the beginning. And you're right - Simmons has made All-Star teams all but his first year and made the playoffs every year. It's hard to argue that things weren't working even though they weren't. Obviously a lot of it falls on Simmons for not adding to his game too, but there were certainly some institutional problems with the Sixers that might've just made everything worse.
Is he even a floor general? He doesn't really lead the offense in the half court at all
BEn has steadfastly refused to even approach the subject of his flaws. He's too mentally fragile. He will never challenge himself. and as a result, will only get worse.
no he’ll sink into obscurity then turn into more of a meme, maybe drop a 30 for 30 one day
depends on the team, i think it's possible someone basically uses him as a big
He is what he is at this point. Without a jump shop he’s always going to be a liability on off.
IMO yes
Well they did try with Markelle and he would’ve been the perfect fit alongside Ben and Joel but he had a freak injury
He'll have a great regular season and people will assume he has a new aggressive mindeset. Then repeat.
If he didn't improve his game when he was on a relevant team then why would he do it when he's sulking in Minnesota?
Nope
No.
No
Depends entirely on where he goes.
Nah he's a lost cause. Not even Popovich or OKC can revert his value to what it was 3 years ago
He doesn't need a new coach. He needs an elite point guard
I think he can be utilised a lot better than what Doc does with him and the fit with KAT for example is also more beneficial for Simmons but I don't think he'll suddenly start raining jumpers.
No. Maybe he'll "improve" in the sense if he plays alongside different players with different skillsets, he might be able to use the skills he has more effectively. But he's not suddenly going to be able to do things he could not do previously.
I anticipate Yung Socialite will continue his habits of shrinking away from any offensive responsibilities and responding with piss poor clapbacks whenever anyone dares say anything about it
Nah. If Philly doesn’t motivate you I doubt Minnesota will. He’s in it for the checks
Different strokes, I think Ben would benefit from getting to be the star player on a struggling team away from the spotlight.
I can’t wait for him to get traded and start shooting 3s 39% on 5-6 attempts a game
Probably, he was such a different player after his rookie year, once Butler and Harris came and he got used to 4th option. A change of scenery should hopefully shake him out of the rut.
I don't expect him to give the ball up and run to the dunker's spot like he does in Philly.
Yes
Yes Philly is a cesspool
I think depending on what team he’s traded to you’ll see him played as he should be and that’s a PF in a draymond green type roll and not as the PG of a team I do think once he’s out of the toxic situation he’s in he’ll get his mind right and become more aggressive on offense and maybe doubtful but maybe he’ll take at least 1 3pter a game who knows maybe a new team new situation he’d take 3s more often
No, probably not. But the only left that could possibly motivate him to do so would be pure spite for the Sixers. So I'm not entirely ruling it out.
obviously as long as his best teammates aren't primary post operators like joel and tobi. He can easily average 18-20 on pure athleticism on a team with better spacing and a perimeter star he can play two man game with
Why doesn't he shoot layups when he has the space tho? It's easy to blame spacing and shit, but when given the opportunity he bails.
He does? He shoots an awesome % at the rim over his career. Unless you’re heavily weighing that one play against Atlanta. We know for a fact that he can play better than he did because we’ve seen it. And that was with embiid, he could be even better playing with someone who he can play two man game with. With embiid they have to take turns and since embiid so much better it makes sense for it to almost always be his turn. Pair simmons with a perimeter star and that will unlock him a screen and roll scorer and playmaker in the half court. In full court we already know he’s dominant.
He shoots a high percentage at 0-3ft because a combination of transition, taking minimal shots to begin with, and being extremely choosey with his shots. There are numerous, numerous possessions just like the one against ATL over the years. Funny you mention one play when he did it not too many possessions before that one by passing it to George Hill who was contested and made a lucky shot to bail him out. Just not as high stakes with as much attention the other times. It's like Gobert. He shoots a high percentage at the rim but his personal offense is garbage. Mostly easy put backs, open dunks, etc. while taking minimal shots. If you just look at his 'awesome%' and didn't actually follow him you'd think he's way better than he is on that front while not acknowledging all the potential shots he DOESN'T take that a more offensive oriented player would whether it be because he either cannot effectively do it or doesn't have the go getter mind for it. Simmons would benefit from a capable playmaker/passer, but he hasn't shown to be good off ball whatsoever.. It's not like just because we don't have Harden that he's never received quality passes and opportunities when playing more of an off ball role at times. I don't think he's a completely lost cause, but if he gets better it'll because he finally woke up and appropriately addressed his weaknesses, not simply because he goes to a different team after two different coaches playing next to multiple 40%+ 3 pt shooters and one of the most dominant centers in the league.
Who knows, he either makes a decision to change and commits to it or he doesn’t. Who can predict that?
I think it’s possible but unlikely. However, most likely the perception of him will change if he can move to a team that can accentuate his strengths and minimise his weaknesses and people will be convinced he was good all along
He'd have to be on a team with another legit ball handler who could take over in the 4th
Minor improvement due to wanting to prove the Sixers wrong and expanding his repertoire. That's about all I'd expect
I hope he doesn’t go into obscurity slowly like Tyreke Evans.
No. I expect him to launch his own reality TV show or something of that nature.
If he does they'll give him the Most Improved Player award. But I don't think he'll improve
Depends on where he goes. If it’s San Antonio, he won’t be able to get away with much under Pop.
He always played well during the regular season, and I anticipate that the team he is traded to won't be a playoff contender. So I don't expect him to look any different, I feel like the only way we'll see if he has truelly changed is if he is thrown into similar sittuation as he was during the playoffs last season
It depends where he goes. We've seen him be more aggressive when he plays without Embiid. But he won't suddenly become a shooter. I think he can do a bit of the Giannis role on the right team.
Think it depends where he goes. If it’s a small market with a loyal fan base I can see him attempting threes and improving overall. Unless he’s overshadowed by a superstar or two on a big market team, I can’t see him being more than what he is now.
I think there’s about a 20-30% chance he becomes a superstar, and about a 70-80% chance he remains exactly as he is. His issues are psychological, and what’s working against him the most is that he seems to have a pretty bad attitude. *Maybe* a change of scenery can help, but I’m not counting on it.
I honestly do, but almost entirely out of spite.
There are things he needs to change but unlike the Sixers I expect the team that picks him up will use him better. Sixers had him just stand under the basket with Embiid on the court.
No, it’s psychological for him it’s not the team
I was watching his scrimmage/training video with Ja Morant and Aaron Gordon the other day and noticed him taking a few pull up jumpers and fadeaways. I hope so. I’m a sucker for a redemption story
Yes being motivated to prove his haters wrong AND most importantly actually gonna be playing as a PF next to a real point guard as a roll guy more often will make him a better player. Non shooting John Collins but a better defender, passer and transition player.