Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons has been heavily criticized for his poor Game 7 performance against the Atlanta Hawks on June 20 as he has been involved in trade rumors since that game. He took only four shots in that game and had five points as Philadelphia was eliminated at home.
One of the bigger criticisms of Simmons, and rightfully so, is that he has not yet added to his offensive game. He does make an impact on the floor in terms of creating shots for others and with his elite defense, but his inability to score for himself continues to be a huge issue and it continues to be something that holds the Sixers back a bit.
Coach Doc Rivers did mention that they have a plan for Simmons to improve on that end over the summer and it has been reported that he has been working hard since the season ended, but nobody had actually seen him in the gym. That is until his trainer, Chris Johnson, posted on his Instagram story that Simmons had just finished up a workout on his 25th birthday on Tuesday.
Ben Simmons is in the gym on his birthday. This is from trainer Chris Johnson’s Instagram story. #Sixers pic.twitter.com/EG3VF0lJil
— Ky Carlin (@Ky_Carlin) July 20, 2021
Simmons also took to Instagram for his first social media post since the season ended. He discussed the highs and the lows he has had in his career and he has a message that he will push through it all to improve as a player.
Considering he is only 25-years old, there is still a ton of time for Simmons to morph into the player the Sixers expect him to be, but on the flip side, they want to win now. Joel Embiid’s timeline is on win-now at the moment and if the Sixers can move Simmons for a guy like Damian Lillard, for example, it would be a huge addition for Philadelphia.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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