Joel Embiid & Doc Rivers Shade Ben Simmons After Brutal Game 7 Loss

Ben Simmons decided against trying to score in the Sixers brutal seven-game Eastern Conference series loss to the underdog Atlanta Hawks, attempting three shots total in the fourth quarter and none in the fourth quarter since game 3.

Ben Simmons 4th quarter this series:
Game 1: 2-2 FG
Game 2: 0-0 FG
Game 3: 1-1 FG
Game 4: 0-0 FG
Game 5: 0-0 FG
Game 6: 0-0 FG
Game 7: 0-0 FG
— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) June 21, 2021

He took it to an extreme last night, passing up a dunk chance.

I can’t believe Ben Simmons did this shit. You’re 6’10”. Dunk the damn ball. Scary ass

pic.twitter.com/i4sljoMeHY
— Glen (@Glenjr1988) June 21, 2021

After the game, neither Simmons coach Doc Rivers nor his fellow "star" Joel Embiid seemed pleased with Simmons.

Rivers refused to give Ben -- who he usually protects -- a vote of confidence going forward.

"I don't know the answer to that right now."

-Doc Rivers after being asked if Ben Simmons could be a point guard on a championship team. pic.twitter.com/rw51V7rkRE
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 21, 2021

"I don't know that question or the answer to that right now," Rivers said to the question of whether Simmons could point guard a championship team. "I don't know the answer to that."

Embiid called out the play in which Simmons passed on the dunk as the game's turning point.

"I don't know how to say it - but I thought the turning point was we had an open shot, we missed and we made one free throw."

—Joel Embiid on the Sixers' Game 7 loss vs. the Hawks pic.twitter.com/wDsw1gVZP0
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 21, 2021

"I'll be honest," Embiid started before hesitating. "I thought the turning point was when we — I don't know how to say it — I thought the turning point was just, we had an open shot and we made one free throw, and we missed the other and then they came down and scored.

"And we didn't get a good possession on the other end. Trae [Young] came back and he made a three and then from there down four, it's on me. I turned the ball over and tried to make something happen from the perimeter. But I thought that was the turning point."

Here's Embiid's real-time reaction to Simmon's passivity: