{"id":571655,"date":"2021-06-23T12:36:48","date_gmt":"2021-06-23T16:36:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=571655"},"modified":"2021-06-23T12:36:55","modified_gmt":"2021-06-23T16:36:55","slug":"the-nba-player-who-forgot-how-to-shoot-the-ben-simmons-conundrum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-nba-player-who-forgot-how-to-shoot-the-ben-simmons-conundrum\/","title":{"rendered":"The NBA Player Who Forgot How To Shoot: The Ben Simmons Conundrum"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-nba-player-who-forgot-how-to-shoot-the-ben-simmons-conundrum%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=571655&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-1324294166.jpg?w=1200&#038;h=800&#038;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"  style=\"display:none\"><\/div>\n<p><span>Ben Simmons may have the NBA equivalent of \u00a0\u201cthe yips.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>For those unfamiliar with the term, \u201cthe yips\u201d usually applies to baseball players struggling mentally with a simple aspect of the game, such as throwing the ball to first base or a pitcher throwing a strike.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe yips\u201d are unusual for a basketball player, but there\u2019s no other explanation for what Simmons is going through at the moment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Philadelphia 76ers guard can\u2019t \u2014 or won\u2019t \u2014 shoot the basketball.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Coming out of LSU, Simmons\u2019 shooting was an area of concern for NBA scouts. He struggled in college with his jumper, but the thought was that he would put in the work at the professional level and eventually improve enough to be an average shooter. Not only has that not happened, Simmons has actually regressed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Simmons was never expected to be a three-point shooter in the NBA, but as the league has moved towards a more spread out offensive game, Simmons inability to shoot has become a glaring issue. He\u2019s attempted just 34 three-pointers in his NBA career, allowing teams to pack the paint against his Sixers team, although Simmons has always found a way to stay involved offensively even without a three-point game. He\u2019s been aggressive in getting into the lane, crashing the offensive boards and getting his teammates buckets with excellent passing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Until the 2021 NBA playoffs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>As the Sixers second-round series against the Atlanta Hawks progressed, Simmons became less and less involved in the offense, often quickly giving the ball up to Center Joel Embiid and taking himself out of the offensive set. After averaging a career-low 14.3 points per game in the regular season, Simmons averaged just 10.7 points per game against Atlanta. Much of this can be attributed to his horrendous free-throw shooting during the playoffs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Simmons \u2014 a 60% free-throw shooter during the regular season \u2014 dipped to an historically low 34.2% in the postseason. His struggles at the line made him hesitant to even have the ball in his hands, which is somewhat of a problem for the point guard of a team.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>During the seven-game series against Atlanta, Simmons attempted just three total shots in the fourth quarter, and didn\u2019t have a single fourth-quarter attempt in the last four games of the series.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\" readability=\"6.9473684210526\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Ben Simmons attempted 3 total shots in the 4th quarter in the entire 7-game series vs. the Hawks. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/5AWJ0acJRZ\">pic.twitter.com\/5AWJ0acJRZ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Sporting News (@sportingnews) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sportingnews\/status\/1406956686213103623?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 21, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span>\u201cWe\u2019re not hiding that Ben has to become a better free throw shooter and a more confident free throw shooter,\u201d head coach Doc Rivers <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/story\/_\/id\/31681488\/philadelphia-76ers-plan-address-ben-simmons-shooting-woes-doc-rivers-says\"><span>said<\/span><\/a><span>. \u201cIf that happens, I really believe a lot of other parts of his game follows. I said that, if you remember, before the season started. First thing I said was, \u2018We got to get him to the line 10 times a night.\u2019 And to want to get to the line 10 times a night. So we\u2019ve got to put in work so he can get there. But if we can get him there, man, his game goes to a different level.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>All of Simmons\u2019 struggles \u2014 physical and mental \u2014 came to a head in game seven.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>With the Sixers down two with under four minutes to go in the fourth quarter, Simmons passed up a wide-open dunk attempt to inexplicably pass the ball to Matisse Thybulle, who was fouled on the attempt.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\" readability=\"5.8181818181818\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This pass by Simmons (rather than uncontested dunk) is a 30-for-30. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/63J9n6TWpB\">https:\/\/t.co\/63J9n6TWpB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DanWetzel\/status\/1406805488612909063?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 21, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span>The pass was emblematic of Simmons mental state and \u2014 according to Embiid \u2014 the turning point in the game.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI\u2019ll be honest: I thought the turning point was when we had an open shot, and we made one free throw and we missed the other, and they came down and scored,\u201d Embiid <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/sports\/2021\/06\/21\/ben-simmons-joel-embiid\/\"><span>said<\/span><\/a><span> after the game.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Rivers was just as harsh, saying he didn\u2019t know if Simmons could be a point guard on a championship team.<\/p>\n<p><span>Both responses were illuminating, and bring into question Simmons\u2019 future in a Sixers uniform.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Philadelphia team as currently constructed certainly seems to have plateaued, as has the pairing of Simmons and Embiid.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But is it time to give up on Simmons?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The fourth-year guard has massive upside. He\u2019s one of the game\u2019s best open-court players and defenders \u2014 Simmons was a unanimous first-team <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/news\/nba-announces-2020-21-all-defensive-first-and-second-teams\">All-Defense<\/a> selection. He\u2019s a wonderful passer, who when involved offensively, makes his teammates better, but as his regression has become more noticeable, his upside may be better suited on a team built specifically for him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The issue is that Simmons\u2019 stock has never been lower after an abysmal postseason. <\/span><span>The Sixers had a chance to sell high on Simmons when they were involved in the James Harden sweepstakes, but were reportedly unable to come up with a package suitable for the Houston Rockets. If the front office does decide to move on from Simmons this offseason, it\u2019s hard to fathom they\u2019ll be getting fair compensation in return.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>What Philadelphia intends to do is unclear, but one thing is certain \u2014 a lot of Simmons\u2019 struggles are mental, and the Sixers aren\u2019t sure it\u2019s fixable.<\/p>\n<p><i>Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers, and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to <\/i><i>sports@dailywire.com<\/i><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><em>The views expressed in this piece are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><i>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><i>member<\/i><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ben Simmons may have the NBA equivalent of \u00a0\u201cthe yips.\u201d\u00a0For those unfamiliar with the term, \u201cthe yips\u201d usually applies to baseball players struggling mentally with a simple aspect of the &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2281096,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-1324294166.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"The NBA Player Who Forgot How To Shoot: The Ben Simmons Conundrum","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-571655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-1324294166.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"The NBA Player Who Forgot How To Shoot: The Ben Simmons Conundrum","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=571655"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571655\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2281096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=571655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=571655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=571655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}