Ben Simmons has taken quite a bit of flak this season, but Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown thinks it's unfair to hold the young point guard to such a high standard on a game-by-game basis.
The Sixers are currently battling the Toronto Raptors in the second round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs. Simmons has struggled at various points of the series, but he managed to rack up 21 points in Thursday's Game 6 victory, which was more than he scored in Games 4 and 5 combined.
Simmons felt a rhythm early in Game 6. In fact, he scored eight points and five assists in the first quarter alone. And just for the record, he finished the game with zero turnovers and six assists in 34 minutes of action.
“It was amazing focus. Everybody was locked in,” Simmons told ESPN after Game 6. “We knew what was at stake.”
Following Philly's win in Game 6, Brown spoke to members of the media with regards to Simmons' evolution as an NBA player.
“Shame on us for thinking he’s going to be all day, every day, here he is, and he’s just going to go knock it out of the park. It’s just not fair,” Brown told philly.com after Thursday's 112-101 win. “It’s the evolution of a 22-year-old, 6-10 point guard who was a college 4-man. I see it very clearly.”
If Simmons is able to muster another solid performance, he and the 76ers will have a much better chance of dispatching the Raptors in Sunday's Game 7 matchup in Toronto. Odd-makers are giving the Raptors a 72.3 percent chance to advance. Let's see if Simmons has anything to say about that.
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