America says it’s time for Ben Simmons to break up with Philadelphia 76ers

Ben Simmons’ weaknesses — and his uncertain future — are a hot topic once again as America digests the 76ers’ shocking playoffs loss.

Ben Simmons needs to find another gear. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

The hate keeps coming for Ben Simmons.

Fingers were being pointed at the Aussie basketball star after another abject shooting display in Philadelphia’s terrible choke to lose Game 5 of their playoff series against Atlanta on Thursday.

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The 76ers led by as much as 26 points but capitulated down the straight as they coughed up the third-largest lead in an NBA playoff game since 1997.

Simmons’ free-throw shooting has been under the microscope all series and he was awful once again from the charity stripe as Philly went down 2-3 in the series, making just four of his 14 attempts.

He’s missed 44 free-throws in the postseason and boasts an embarrassing shooting percentage of 32.8 per cent from the line. He has single-handedly missed more free-throws than three of the teams remaining in the playoffs (Hawks — 35, Phoenix Suns — 29, Brooklyn Nets — 22).

The reaction Stateside has been absolutely savage, as this poster shows.

Philly is doing Ben Simmons BAD 👀 pic.twitter.com/NAi3hoPjgx

— BroBible (@BroBible) June 17, 2021

Sportscaster Howard Eskin was one of many who teed off on Simmons, saying the solution is to banish him to the bench if he’s going to continually falter.

“Ben Simmons is never going to change. You know what he’s happy about? That he’s making $30 million a year. Then he can post all his nonsense on social media,” Eskin said.

“I don’t give a damn about your car, Ben. I care about you shooting more than one shot in the second half. I care about you trying to take a 13-footer even though you suck at shooting from the outside. Just give the other team an illusion that you’re going to try and score from other places on the court.

“He is so afraid and he’s so dismissive. I can’t say enough bad things about Ben Simmons.

“If he was (only) 6-foot-5 (195cm), he’d be playing in Europe somewhere. To say he’s an All-Star is a joke, it’s ridiculous.

“That’s the problem they (the 76ers) have. They can’t win the championship with him.

“Ben Simmons is the biggest culprit. If you’ve gotta sit his a*** down then you sit his a*** down.”

Sixers beat writer Kyle Neubeck was scathing of Simmons and the Sixers in general in a piece for Philly Voice, saying using the 24-year-old at point guard — the focal point for any team’s offence — just doesn’t work.

“When push comes to shove and things get tough, the Sixers simply cannot trust Simmons to lead this team,” Neubeck wrote. “Leading, in so many words, is a point guard’s job.

“Simmons does not play for a scrappy high school team from the Hoosier State, led by a Bobby Knight wannabe who rules with an iron fist. In this league and at this level, the point guard bends the will of the game to their liking. They do what is required, whatever that may be.”

Neubeck said the 76ers have pinned their hopes on former No. 1 draft pick Simmons but have been made to look foolish because they’re still waiting for him to develop into the player they need him to be — and thought he could be — with the necessary pieces around him to turn Philadelphia into a championship-winning team.

Simmons couldn’t stop Trae Young running riot against the 76ers. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

Time to trade Ben Simmons?

The Sixers pushed to snare James Harden in a trade from Houston in January, as reports emerged Simmons was to be included in any package deal to appease the Rockets. They missed their man, and Harden landed at the Nets.

Neubeck reports Philly had no issue giving away Simmons, but was unwilling to part with a further stack of young talent to make the deal happen.

Former NFL player turned TV star Shannon Sharpe put it bluntly. “The trade they didn’t make for James Harden looks worse and worse as time passes,” he told Fox Sports.

“When you make 30 per cent of your free throws and you can’t shoot threes, you can’t shoot from mid-range, what good are you?”

Not for the first time, talk has turned about whether Simmons’ future lies in Philadelphia.

Fox Sports radio presenter Jason Smith said: “Ben Simmons has to leave the 76ers.

“Someone will really want Ben Simmons after this season. He’s 24 and is extremely talented and maybe is a better fit in a different system.

“But it ain’t gonna be the 76ers. Trade Ben? That’s a given at this point.”

Fellow sportscaster Michael Smith added: “I don’t care if they win the NBA Finals, Ben Simmons has got to go.

“If you can’t make free throws when your game is attacking the rim, exactly what use are you?”

Simmons is under immense pressure.

Coach Doc Rivers has continued to defend Simmons, saying the media places far too much negative attention on the Australian’s shooting. The player himself has previously brushed off criticism, but admitted against the Hawks he needs to be more aggressive.

Speaking on his podcast The Lowe Post, NBA expert Zach Lowe said the decision to hand Simmons the point guard keys has put Philadelphia in a tricky spot because he doesn’t deliver when he’s needed most.

“It is clear that he is a really good player. It’s also clear that he could be a meaningful player on a really good team. What is finally clear to me though, and has been clear for a while, is that he cannot be the point guard on a championship team, he just can’t,” Lowe said.

“The thing that is frustrating is the insistence from everyone — from Ben, from Doc Rivers — that everybody else is crazy.

“I can’t imagine another point guard in the playoffs being taken off the floor in the closing minutes in important offensive positions. It’s absolutely insane and they’re now in this insane situation because of that.”

ESPN NBA reporter Tim McMahon told Lowe Simmons’ failings manifest themselves too often in the postseason. He also said if the Sixers lose to Atlanta, Simmons may not be part of Philly’s roster next season.

“It’s staring you in the face. The playoffs are like this every year. The Boston series was like this, the Toronto series ... this series has been even worse. It’s every time,” McMahon said.

“It’s just a disaster. There’s no other way to say it.”