There was a habit in Game 7 of paying attention to the players, the team, and the truth about the team. It shows us that Joel Embiid is a great player, but he may not be a champion yet. It shows us that Tobias Harris scores randomly in the regular season does not mean that everything is in danger in the playoffs.

One fact speaks louder than words-Ben Simmons probably shouldn’t stay in Philadelphia next season. Not because he is a worthless basketball player, nor because he and Embiid are mortal enemies, nor because you are afraid that he will run around in the warm weather when his contract expires. But the two sides can only guard the facade for so long. If the 76ers and Simmons want to be the best of themselves, they both need to approach a fresh start. This fact became clear when the 76ers tried to clean up the mess after the fiasco.

Rivers has been a tough defender for Ben Simmons all year, and he even questioned the IQ of anyone who dares to ask questions. Should Simmons be replaced A game about his free throw problem. Defeated in the series with Atlanta, Rivers not only admitted the fight and removed Simmons from the game, but he also worked hard to defend his point guard after his defeat on Sunday night.

“I don’t know this question, and I don’t know the answer now,” Rivers said when asked if he still believes Simmons can be a winning point guard. “I don’t know the answer.”

It is shocking to hear this shift, and it is easy to understand Rivers’s sudden crisis of trust. Simmons’s free throw percentage in the 2021 playoffs was the worst among all players with 70 or more attempts from the free throw line, and this number of free throws is only part of the story. What’s worse is that he completely ignores the offensive basket, which is the only way he can score in a basketball game.

more: Real-time observation: The 76ers lost to the Eagles in Game 7

The most lasting memory of this game and this series will not be Tre Young’s retreat jumper, John Collins poster dunk, or even Joel Embiid’s expensive mistakes in the final minutes of Game 7, but Simmons’ Under the rim, waiting for the dunk opportunity in front of him, and the 6’10” Australian chose to let others in a worse position try to score.

This is a moment that even the biggest Simmons hater in the world cannot write. Joel Embiid Raised his hands angrily After the game, he quickly recovered his spirits and dressed his teammates. Although he tried to describe this moment as part of the failure of a larger team, including his own failure, an hour after we all saw it happen in real time, the big man couldn’t help expressing his shock.

“I mean, honestly. I think the turning point is that we — I don’t know how to say — but I think the turning point is when we have open shots, we take a free throw, and then we miss the other, and then they fall And score,” Embiid said. “We didn’t get a good possession on the other end, Trey came back and he made 3 points. Then it got 4 points from there, it’s up to me. I turned the ball over and tried to do something on the outside. But I think that was the turning point. “

Embiid just saw the crowded arena and what millions of people saw on the TV at home. Philadelphia fans tried to make Simmons the more effective self we saw in the Wizards series recently, urging him to play every time Simmons got the ball and started moving towards the opponent’s basket. Several times before, he lowered his head and fainted, disappointedly, “Wow!” The shouts spread throughout the arena. Those people quickly became upset, booed, and disgusted having to watch this guy play, and some fans even chanted to trade Simmons before the end of the game.

“For Ben Simmons, no one can provide a more concise explanation than’I am me, I am this way’, no matter how hard they work. Everyone knows who he is, that’s the problem. “

The concept of the trade is something that Simmons didn’t seem to think about at the moment after the game. To his credit, his initial response was graceful. Frankly speaking, he didn’t do enough offensively. He was very happy to play in Philadelphia. When you fail here, the short-term irony is part of the deal, and you sign up because you know the highs are much higher. If Simmons left it there, it would be a rare fragile moment for a cool-headed person, and he also admitted that his problem at the free throw line was a mental one.

But during his Zoom call, Simmons had enough time to bury himself. When asked if he felt that something different in the playoffs did not allow him to be the person he thought he was in the regular season, Simmons returned to a state of indifference.

“No, no, no, I won’t let you say that. We lost, which is terrible. I am me, that’s it. Winning is not easy, it shows,” Simmons said. “The Nets were [the] For the Bucks, winning is not easy. I work, so the first thing I want to do is to clarify my thinking and adjust my mentality. “

He was humiliated by the player with the biggest contract and became the national laughingstock on the biggest stage of the sport. Shaquille O’Neal was the most notorious free throw error on the basketball court. He claimed in part of the time after the game on Sunday that if they shared the same locker room, he would be eliminated because Simmons played like this.Charles Barkley Also involved. I’m not the kind of person who wants or requires professional athletes to remain humble-to do this requires a certain degree of self-confidence that ignores reason, even the last person on the bench. But no No matter how hard they work, people will provide a more concise explanation of Ben Simmons’s problem, rather than “I am me, this is the truth”.

Everyone knows who he is, that’s the problem.

The question is how do you solve it, Philadelphia must have thrown a lot of things on the wall to see what works. From starting TJ McConnell by his side to trading Jimmy Butler, to paying $100 million in exchange for large sums of money, to transforming the coaching staff, they have done a lot. All roads lead to the same place. The best rebuttal that Simmons’ loyal supporters can provide is to let him play more of a small ball center, as if using his playing time to provide cover for Embiid might be the answer to the team.

related: The 76ers have been there, waiting for Ben Simmons

Many critics will tell you that Simmons is not working. I would refute this with a more cursing hypothesis—he put in his work, but couldn’t and would not use it when it was important. Over the years, he has ignored critics as people who don’t understand basketball. In hindsight, this is not so much arrogance as it is to cover up the reason why he never leaves his comfort zone. His pursuit of avoiding failure is so persistent that he still got there, and the effect of doing nothing is the same as jumping from the back basket to a bunch of jumpers.

As the results on the field show, the 76ers need something that Simmons can’t provide right now. Joel Embiid is in the golden age of his career. He is an MVP-level genius and is eager for someone to make his life easier on offense.But Simmons, who is only 24 years old, needs something the 76ers can’t provide he Now: Take a step back in terms of responsibilities and expectations, and have the opportunity to allow these failures to happen without being overwhelmed by the weight of expectations.

If either party continues to be great without the other, there should be no anger, just a little sadness, because it doesn’t have to be that way.

Where he goes and what they can get for him is another matter entirely. In this season, Simmons’ value has been hit hard to imagine. The 76ers once refused to accept the idea of ??a transfer Kawhi Leonard, Also Kawhi Leonard, he will defeat them on his way to win the championship. His current position is the best case for temporarily putting him in a 76ers team uniform-restoring his image and selling to higher bidders at the next appropriate time is the way to get the most return.

Is it tenable to insist on this hopeful possibility? Playing in this city will almost certainly not help the spirit of Simmons’ game, and this fan group should not feel obligated to put his needs ahead of others. Philadelphia has been urging him to be the best of himself throughout the playoffs. Their efforts have received a series of rewards, and each game is more powerless than the previous one. They fought against other fan bases to protect this guy and promised to be different this year, but Simmons turned in and might become one of the worst All-Star series ever. Seeing him on the court will to some extent represent the 76ers’ disappointed acceptance of who he is and the playoffs he represents. No matter how hard he tries to imply that greater things will happen in the future, no one will believe what he sells.

This is not an environment where players find success through recognized psychological problems. And it is not fair for anyone, whether his teammates or hardcore fans from West Philadelphia, to go around the carriage for someone who tells you with a huge neon sign that he is not willing to risk failure. Here, he will always be Ben Simmons, the first pick in the first round, the player with a maximum salary, and the last member of The Process. But he can be someone else, maybe anything he wants, and in another market, its support system will not withstand the scar tissue he has failed so far.

This is a year you will go all out, knowing that all of this can collapse at any time, whether it is due to COVID or injury, or some other random tragedy, which may suddenly fall from the sky. For a whole year, the Sixers said the right thing to Simmons. They should have—whether you believe this guy or not, he is their teammate and an important part of Philadelphia’s success in the first round of the playoffs, a friend they have an obligation to support.

But unlike your family, you can choose your friends. Good friends know when to let someone leave for the benefit of both parties. If either party continues to be great without the other, there should be no anger, just a little sadness, because it doesn’t have to be that way.

more: Charles Barkley slams Ben Simmons for being “scared to death” for shooting

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