Why hasn't Philly measurably improved post-Ben Simmons?

[Im Still Ballin]

I was told Philadelphia would become measurably better once they replaced him with a guy who could shoot. I guess James Harden and the emergence of Tyrese Maxey weren't enough. We'll see how Paul George goes.

The 76ers were a winning team each of the four seasons Ben was there. This was despite a poor fit and roster/personnel decisions, and Joel constantly missing large chunks of the season. They were 35-7 with Joel and Ben in 2020-21 when they secured the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference.

With Ben:

2017-18: 52-30; 4.3 SRS (5th)
2018-19: 51-31; 2.25 SRS (11th)
2019-20: 43-30; 2.25 SRS (12th)
2020-21: 49-23; 5.28 SRS (5th)

Without Ben:

2021-22: 51-31; 2.57 SRS (9th)
2022-23: 54-28; 4.37 SRS (3rd)
2023-24: 47-35; 2.51 SRS (11th)

People really overexaggerated the whole "playing 4-on-5 offense" thing. They acted as if the 76ers would immediately and dramatically improve once they found an adequate replacement who could shoot. But basketball is a bit more complicated than that.

Ben was a valuable player that impacted the game in a variety of ways. What they gained in shooting and spacing they lost in defense, size, rebounding, and transition play. There's always a tradeoff.

Simmons still has the strongest winning percentage of all Joel's sidekicks:

Regular season + playoffs:

Joel Embiid + Jimmy Butler: 34-17 (66.7%)
Joel Embiid + Ben Simmons: 160-77 (67.5%)
Joel Embiid + Tyrese Maxey: 152-74 (67.3%)
Joel Embiid + James Harden: 59-32 (64.8%)

They lost more on defense than they gained on offense:

[Wardell Curry]

The majority of NBA fans only see individual scoring. To them it's not what matters most, it is the only thing. Next.

[Real Men Wear Green]

I don't recall a lot of people saying Philly would get markedly better. The problem was that he is one of the most sensitive and unprofessional players in NBA history. He gave Philly no choice because he refused to play because his feelings were hurt. And playing scared in the playoffs didn't help either. Before Doc's answer to a question crushed his fragile soul he was useful in the regular season but these days he's not even good for that. May be the softest player of all time.

[Im Still Ballin]

I don't recall a lot of people saying Philly would get markedly better. The problem was that he is one of the most sensitive and unprofessional players in NBA history. He gave Philly no choice because he refused to play because his feelings were hurt. And playing scared in the playoffs didn't help either. Before Doc's answer to a question crushed his fragile soul he was useful in the regular season but these days he's not even good for that. May be the softest player of all time.

You're being dishonest. You don't like Ben as a person and it's affecting your judgement.

[tpols]

The Warriors won a championship playing 3v5 on offense. Nobody had to guard Dray or Looney and Dray especially shot way worse than Ben Simmons.

[Real Men Wear Green]

You're being dishonest. You don't like Ben as a person and it's affecting your judgement.

The word "disjonest" means you are saying I'm lying. Please point out the lie. This is a stupid accusation.

[tpols]

A lot of the Ben Simmons hate is bogus and was a way to deflect blame from Embiid for shitting the bed vs the Raptors in 2019 when they were one single lucky shot away from beating Toronto with Joel putting up 17 ppg on 37% FG as a 7 footer.

Which is beyond garbage for a player of his supposed caliber and we've seen this pattern repeat itself in the years that came after.




If you look at the splits, Jimmy Butler and Ben Simmons were the only ones with a positive differential. Everybody else was in the big time negative. JJ Reddick was about neutral.

So the media basically destroyed Ben's confidence by painting him as the scapegoat when it was really their Golden Child Embiid that cost Philly a possible title in 2019 with that stacked team.

[Real Men Wear Green]

Blaming the media for things like his pathetic series vs Atlanta world be pretty soft but as far as I know Simmons hasn't gone there yet.

[tpols]

Ben averaged 10/9/6 on 60%FG and 114 ORTG vs Atlanta in a close 7 game series. Far from a disastrous performance.

Draymond Green averaged 6/8/6 on 33%FG and 12% from 3 when Golden State beat your vaunted Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals and caught no heat, but Simmons performing signifigantly better than that in a close loss is somehow irredeemable?

Yea... you're a moron.

[ShawkFactory]

Ben averaged 10/9/6 on 60%FG and 114 ORTG vs Atlanta in a close 7 game series. Far from a disastrous performance.

Draymond Green averaged 6/8/6 on 33%FG and 12% from 3 when Golden State beat your vaunted Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals and caught no heat, but Simmons performing signifigantly better than that in a close loss is somehow irredeemable?

Yea... you're a moron.

Bro do you remember that series?

Despite not being guarded, he attempted THREE total shots in 7 4th quarters. Two of them were in game 1. Didn't attempt a shot in the 4th in the final 4 games, 3 of which were Atlanta wins. He also shot 14-45 from line in the series.

It was an absolute disaster.

[Real Men Wear Green]

Ben averaged 10/9/6 on 60%FG and 114 ORTG vs Atlanta in a close 7 game series. Far from a disastrous performance.

Draymond Green averaged 6/8/6 on 33%FG and 12% from 3 when Golden State beat your vaunted Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals and caught no heat, but Simmons performing signifigantly better than that in a close loss is somehow irredeemable?

Yea... you're a moron.

It takes a special kind of moron to post averages and not look at the individual games. Simmons had 4, 8, 6, and 5 point games. He did that when in the regular season he averaged 14 and was one of their most important offensive players, supposed to be an allstar. If you had any sense you would have looked that up and kept your foot out of your mouth but apparently you enjoy the taste.

[iamgine]

I think the argument was IF Ben could shoot Philly would be measurably better. Not if they replaced him.

[tpols]

Bro do you remember that series?

Despite not being guarded, he attempted THREE total shots in 7 4th quarters. Two of them were in game 1. Didn't attempt a shot in the 4th in the final 4 games, 3 of which were Atlanta wins. He also shot 14-45 from line in the series.

It was an absolute disaster.

Of course I remember.

Simmons wasn't shooting? Uh... why would you want him to? He was an elite passer, playmaker and defender. Rodman didn't shoot despite not being guarded. Nobody cared about that. Dray mostly didn't shoot without being guarded and when he reluctantly did it was a brick. Nobody cared about that. But Ben not shooting is some major problem?

Simmons as a 6'10 big man took on the challenge to guard Trae Young full time since Seth Curry couldn't, and he averaged almost double digit dimes. That's exactly what Dray does except Dray shot far worse and averaged less points.

The double standards are funny.

[Real Men Wear Green]

Of course I remember.

Simmons wasn't shooting? Uh... why would you want him to? He was an elite passer, playmaker and defender. Rodman didn't shoot despite not being guarded. Nobody cared about that. Dray mostly didn't shoot without being guarded and when he reluctantly did it was a brick. Nobody cared about that. But Ben not shooting is some major problem?

Simmons as a 6'10 big man took on the challenge to guard Trae Young full time since Seth Curry couldn't, and he averaged almost double digit dimes. That's exactly what Dray does except Dray shot far worse and averaged less points.

The double standards are funny.

Dennis Rodman wasn't counted on to score. That's a stupid argument. Simmons had a role in their offense that involved getting some points. Dray Green took and takes shots because he knows the offense is better when he is a threat to score. If opponents know Simmons isn't going to shoot because he's turning down dunks because he's that scared it puts too much pressure on Embiid and everyone else. There are plenty of great players that were bad shooters. There are no great players that were scared shooters. Even Rodman would take an open three from time to time and he had no role as a scorer beyond finishing.

[ShawkFactory]

Of course I remember.

Simmons wasn't shooting? Uh... why would you want him to? He was an elite passer, playmaker and defender. Rodman didn't shoot despite not being guarded. Nobody cared about that. Dray mostly didn't shoot without being guarded and when he reluctantly did it was a brick. Nobody cared about that. But Ben not shooting is some major problem?

Simmons as a 6'10 big man took on the challenge to guard Trae Young full time since Seth Curry couldn't, and he averaged almost double digit dimes. That's exactly what Dray does except Dray shot far worse and averaged less points.

The double standards are funny.

I watched every second of every game in that series very intently and was thanking god that Ben Simmons was doing what he did. They counted on him and he absolutely did not deliver like he should have.

Not only was he not shooting, but because he was so putrid from the line he wasn't attacking in any way at all. Dude was passing up layups if anyone was near him because he was scared of getting fouled. This was particularly apparent in 4th quarters, as I've already mentioned. He was a complete liability and a big reason why the Hawks won.