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Ben Simmons blamed himself after the Philadelphia 76ers were eliminated from the playoffs on Sunday with a 103-96 loss in Game 7 to the Atlanta Hawks.
The 24-year-old has been horrible on the free throw line throughout Philadelphia’s second round series as he struggled to score.
“I don’t shoot well from the line in this series,” Simmons said, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “Offensively, I wasn’t there. I didn’t do enough for my teammates.… There are a lot of things I have to work on.”
Simmons shot 15 for 45 on free kicks against Atlanta and 34.2 percent from the line for the overall 2021 playoffs, which is the worst free throw percentage in NBA playoff history for a player with at least 70 attempts.
The three-time All-Star was limited to under 10 points in four of seven games against Atlanta, including his five-point performance on Sunday.
After the game, 76ers head coach Doc Rivers was asked if Simmons could lead a championship team. He has answered:
“I don’t know that question or the answer to it yet,” Rivers said. “So I don’t know the answer to that. “
The Sixers are set to go through some big changes this offseason, and the franchise will likely have to decide whether or not to keep Simmons, who owes $ 140.4 million over the next four seasons.
Marc Stein of the New York Times said that Philadelphia will obviously “explore” the Simmons shopping market this offseason, so things should get interesting.
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