Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons can be a maddening player to watch. Obviously, he is such a talented player and he impacts the game in so many different ways, but there is one glaring weakness that does hold him back a bit.
The continued refusal to take any jump shots outside of the paint continues to dog him as he moves on with his NBA career and it cost the Sixers a lot in the 2021 playoffs. Philadelphia really needed him to get aggressive, but he was not able to do so.
After taking some trade calls on Simmons as training camp approaches–Sept. 28–it is looking like he will be on the team’s roster for at least the beginning of the season. This means that, once again, he will have to come up with some type of a jumper to help the roster.
Simmons was involved in an open gym run with other NBA players and he once again showed a willingness to shoot in these pickup games. He knocked down a deep 3-pointer and then a tough, contested jumper that shows off what he can do on that end.
The big thing is, everybody has seen this before. Simmons knocks down jumpers in a pickup game and he looks like he is ready to take the next step. However, once the bright lights of an NBA arena are turned on, he still refuses to take any shots such as these in a real game.
At the end of the day, it looks like Simmons will be a Philadelphia 76er when the season begins on Oct. 20 in New Orleans. If the 25-year old 3-time All-Star can take this next step forward, it really does change everything for both him and the team’s chances. They need more of this when the season does begin.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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