One of the main focuses not only surrounding the Philadelphia 76ers, but gaining a lot of attention around the NBA, is the evidence that Ben Simmons is working on improving his jump shot. In a video that surfaced on Twitter, Simmons was playing a pickup game, and while he did drive the hoop for the layup or dunk often, his mid-game looked very improved with his jump shot. The highlight included a fadeaway that looked nice, but this is just a work out in July. The real question that the Philadelphia fans have is “why doesn’t he shoot the ball during a game, then?”
Tobias Harris in a recent discussion mentioned that Ben Simmons wasn’t “confident in shooting it, but still super productive.” That is absolutely true. As a supporter of Simmons, he was able to be productive in transition on defense, effective at producing points at the rim, and he clearly gels with the rest of the starters. Two glaring points of improvement would be in shooting; both the jump shot and from the free-throw line. If he shows an improvement that passes the eye test with fans, even just this upcoming season, it will be scary to see how good Simmons can be.
Ben Simmons in a lot of ways will be like Joel Embiid if he can add an effective jump shot to his repertoire. Both are young players and, with that improvement from Simmons, could arguably be the best that their respective positions. With how young Simmons is and how long of a career he has ahead of him to become dominant, he identifies with Embiid’s current youth and dominance. Being fully aware of that video and it’s differences to a real NBA game if Simmons would be able to show that confidence in his jump shot, he will be a perennial all-star.
Mike Scott elaborated on this, but doubled-down on Ben Simmons. Scott stated on-air with Marc Farzetta, “Ben Simmons gets that jump shot, he’s a Hall of Famer.” That is probably, single-handedly, the best thing that you can say about a teammate. With that kind of buzz amongst the athletes playing the sport about a certain player, I believe it. Between players, the term “Hall of Famer” is not thrown around lightly. One has to think that if Simmons gets the confidence to take shots from outside of the paint this season, the Philadelphia 76ers could be the favorites to represent the east in the NBA Finals.
This doesn’t mean at all that the Philadelphia 76ers are going to do what James Ennis III said and “walk to the Finals in the east.” All of this has to take place in an NBA game. Preseason won’t even provide the necessary answer that the Sixers fans need. This has to happen early and often in the 2019-2020 NBA season. Philadelphia is currently in a “win now” mode when it comes to the Sixers. Mike Scott realizes the greatness that Ben Simmons may possess. This upcoming season has to be the beginning of it, especially after receiving the maximum contract.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
