It is amazing how just one shot can have such a big impact on a team’s direction going forward. For Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons, his 3-pointer in Thursday night’s 116-92 win over the Orlando Magic is a big stepping stone for him.
Everybody has seen Simmons practicing and working on his 3-point shot before games and in practices and workouts and such, but he has yet to really pull it out in a game. There has been so much work going on behind the scenes so the question always becomes, why not just take the shot in an actual game?
Well, on Thursday he did so and he did with no hesitation and there was a confidence in the shot as well. Once the dust settled on an easy win, Simmons shrugged it off.
“I came down, Aaron Gordon went down under Danny’s (Green) pick, Joel (Embiid) threw it to me in the corner, and I let that go,” he stated nonchalantly.
It was the third made 3-pointer of Simmons’ career and all three of them have come from the corner. He made two 3-pointers in the 2019-20 season from the same spot and it’s obvious where he puts his work in.
“Joel threw the pass, he knew I was gonna put it up,” he added. “It was a shot that I work on, corner 3s. I feel comfortable taking it so knocked it down.”
Seth Curry is the 3-point marksman on the team and he had confidence that Simmons was going to knock that shot down.
“I’ve seen him make it in practice and I know he can knock it down,” Curry said with a smile. “Especially from the corner so it’s just a matter of him doing it in a game and stepping into it with confidence. It didn’t look like there was too much hesitation on the shot and I expected it to go in, to be honest.”
For the Sixers, if he can continue to bring this shot out in a game, then that is going to make all the difference for this team moving forward. They need the All-Star guard to show off some sort of semblance of a jumper in order for them to move forward. It would certainly make the offense a lot smoother in the future.
The Sixers will return home to begin the new year on Saturday as they will take on the Charlotte Hornets to begin two straight games at home with them.
https://embed.sendtonews.com/oembed/?SC=ygBOOsbOow-1092009-7498&autoplay=on&V=2&format=json
[lawrence-related id=40808,40799,40796]