The entire Philadelphia 76ers organization has urged Ben Simmons to expand his range and start taking 3-pointers. The stud Sixers point guard has struggled to take them, even after going a perfect 1-of-1 in preseason, but he now claims he's ready to start getting them up.

Simmons made his declaration to ESPN's Jackie MacMullan shortly before his back injury:

“I feel like I want to take them now,” Simmons said shortly before his injury, “as opposed to being asked to force them up. It could be during the playoffs. I've prepped so much for it, when I do it, it will work.”

Simmons isn't doing it to address the unrest in the Philly faithful or to appease his teammates or others who have urged him to shoot. Instead, he claims it's solely up to him to decide when and if he will take them:

“Me,” said Simmons. “It's up to me.”

Sixers head coach Brett Brown has already done all he can to encourage Simmons and put him in opportunities to take those shots. Yet it has to be borne from Simmons to get them up, even if that means he will miss plenty.

The third-year point man has made two of his six attempts this season but is a career 8.7% shooter after missing his first 17 tries in the past two seasons.

One thing Simmons is right about, however, is it is up to him and solely up to him. No one can press a button or move the strings of a marionette to force him to shoot. He has to be the one to find the place and time, as well as find the comfort in making the defense pay.

Simmons will have plenty of uncontested looks due to his reputation as a reluctant jump shooter. Cash in enough of those open looks and Simmons will start to see the benefits of extending his game past the painted area.