The passionate fanbase in the city of Philadelphia can be a bit rough. They are one of those cities that demand good effort from their teams and in the case of the Philadelphia 76ers, they voiced their displeasure in their Game 7 home loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
The fans let out a chorus of boos to the Sixers as they fell in Game 7 and they voiced a lot of displeasure with star guard Ben Simmons who came up small in the deciding game. They were also upset with his lack of success at the foul line as he shot only 34.2% from the line in the playoffs.
The booing can be tough, but it is the fans showing that they actually care and they want the team to succeed on the floor.
Veteran Danny Green was not on board with this, however, as he told John Clark on “The Takeoff with John Clark” podcast:
It has an affect on everybody and I think that’s something that needs to change in the city. I love our fans, but when things aren’t going well, they can turn on you. That’s the one thing that I would disagree with or dislike, but some guys use it as motivation, some guys have a chip on their shoulder, but I think that needs to change somewhat. They need to be right and with us regardless of how things are going. We were number one in the East, still playing well, and in some games, they’ll boo us, but that’s part of the culture year. That’s part of their way of showing they love us, but when a guy like Ben and other guys, I think they need to stick by him, as long as they can, until the horn blows. Even then, he’s here. He’s given so much to this organization to the city, on and off the court, that he deserves that respect and that support. I hope that worm turns for him and for the city of Philly to where they don’t have that mantra as fans of being cold rough and one of the worst in the league. We had a great time this year. We had a great outing and when they came back and allowed fans back into the building, it was amazing energy that we needed love. I hope that changes for him and I hope that changes for the city.
Then there’s the issue of Simmons. The big question is does Philadelphia bring him back? Or do they move on and break up the Simmons-Joel Embiid duo? Coach Doc Rivers did express his belief in Simmons and Green believes Simmons will be in Philadelphia.
Green told Clark:
I think so. I don’t see Doc or Daryl Morey as guys to give up on a guy like that. He’s very young and have a lot of potential, because of one series or because of one incident, and just given up on him…There’s a lot of newbies in this, and I think they feel that they can adapt and adjust and also change and grow and help them understand a championship atmosphere. Ben and Joel, their first time actually, they didn’t really have many vets, they didn’t have to learn from somebody like Doc, or have that type of culture around them. They’re going to probably stick with him and give him an opportunity to grow, and also change them into a championship type of point guard that everybody keeps asking about. I believe he has the tools. I believe he has the mental. I just think he needs encouragement and he needs us around him to help him get him there.
No matter what happens, this promises to be a very interesting offseason for the Sixers as they move into the next phase of their title quest. They will have to make some tough decisions in the summer as they head into the 2021-22 season.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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