[jwplayer oxAdaBIS-z6KDnl0B]
A large amount of criticism surrounding Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons was his lack of shooting and his reluctance to shoot the ball. Despite all of the success he has produced in other areas in the game such as his defense, his growth as a point guard, and his rebounding it always goes back to the jump shot.
On Wednesday night, Simmons finally pulled one from deep and knocked it down with ease as he led the Sixers to a 109-104 win over the New York Knicks.
Everybody had seen the work he had put into his shot, they had seen the jumpers he takes in practices and in warmups before games, but he hadn’t attempted one in a game before Wednesday. Simmons was happy to finally get it off his back.
Simmons stated after the game:
“You saw my reaction,” he said with a laugh. “It feels good. You put work into something and it pays off.”
The raucous Philadelphia crowd erupted when the shot went down, but Simmons paid it no mind.
Honestly, when I’m on the floor, I don’t hear anything. I’m just trying to space the floor and do what I can to make this team better.
The Sixers will now need this type of production consistently and they will need this to be a sign of the times. They will need him to begin showing off more of a jump shot and attempting a few more shots per game. It would go a long way in helping the team take the next step. [lawrence-related id=19708,19698,19684]