In an attempt to work their way back into the game on Friday, the New Orleans Pelicans pulled out the old “Hack-a-Ben” strategy on Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons. The Sixers All-Star has a history of being a poor foul shooter and on Friday, he shot 6-for-10 from the line as it allowed the Pelicans to make a game of it late.
It wasn’t enough as the Sixers were able to come away with a 116-109 win to improve to 14-0 at home, but the poor shooting from the foul line concerned coach Brett Brown as he was upset with his team’s sloppy play overall. However, Tobias Harris believes it is a good thing for Simmons to go through.
“Honestly, I like that they fouled. I think it’s good,” said Harris. “Come playoff time, if teams decide to do that, we can’t afford to take him out of the game. He’ll be confident enough to be able to knock those shots down and we’ll need that especially if we’re talking long term and down the line.”
Simmons did knock down two free throws late when the Pelicans went with that strategy again, but it was because he was able to get into a rhythm. When he’s able to get that many free throws in, he’s able to shoot his way into a groove and he’s able to eventually find a way to knock those shots down.
“Definitely, yeah,” Simmons said succinctly as he shrugged off the misses.
He is not a player short on confidence in himself. The free throws are a problem to where they’re going to need him to step up and knock down shots, but over time he can get better in this area if teams are going to continue to utilize this strategy. It all comes with repetition over time to continue to get better. [lawrence-related id=21321,21313,21304]