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:
— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) June 21, 2021
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
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
— Glen (@Glenjr1988) June 21, 2021
pic.twitter.com/i4sljoMeHY
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."
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 21, 2021
-Doc Rivers after being asked if Ben Simmons could be a point guard on a championship team. pic.twitter.com/rw51V7rkRE
"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."
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 21, 2021
—Joel Embiid on the Sixers' Game 7 loss vs. the Hawks pic.twitter.com/wDsw1gVZP0
"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:
here is Joel Embiid’s reaction when Ben Simmons passed up the wide open dunk pic.twitter.com/lrfdYiYpkv
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) June 21, 2021
Is Simmons a Sixer next year.