Doc Rivers gave an extremely harsh response when asked an important question about Ben Simmons on Sunday night.
Rivers’ Philadelphia 76ers lost 103-96 in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series with the Atlanta Hawks. Simmons scored just five points in the game and was unplayable at times in the series due to his free throw shooting. Even when he was in the game, he feared shooting the ball.
Ben Simmons 4th quarter this series:
Game 1: 2-2 FG
Game 2: 0-0 FG
Game 3: 1-1 FG
Game 4: 0-0 FG
Game 5: 0-0 FG
Game 6: 0-0 FG
Game 7: 0-0 FG— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) June 21, 2021
Rivers was asked after the series whether he believed Simmons could be the point guard on a championship team.
“I don’t even know the answer to that right now,” Rivers said.
Keep in mind, this is a player Rivers was playing in Game 7 10 minutes prior to giving that response.
Rivers defended Simmons over his shooting struggles this season. But after Simmons became such a playoff liability, Rivers no longer could keep up the political correctness. Philly could look to trade Simmons, but they might not get great value for him anymore. Simmons has four years left on his $177 million contract extension.
