The Philadelphia 76ers head into Game 3 against the Atlanta Hawks with the series tied at one. While the Sixers were up by 17 points late in Game 2, Atlanta resorted to the hacking strategy. Foul Ben Simmons and hope he misses his free throws.
Although the Sixers still ended up winning, the Hawks' game plan worked. Simmons only had two attempts from the charity stripe but he missed both, with Doc Rivers even taking him out of the game briefly as a result.
His lack of efficiency from the line continues to be a worry for Philly, and according to a former NBA coach who chose to stay anonymous, Simmons is going to be the downfall of the Sixers' title hopes, per Bleacher Report:
“It's a tough spot for Doc to be in,” said the anonymous ex-NBA coach. “Ben does so many things that you as a coach love for your guys to do. But his free-throw shooting is going to cost them a playoff series. Hell, you can make a case that it cost them Game 1 against the Hawks. Who knows what it would have done if Doc didn't take him out for a minute or two there when Atlanta was trying to foul, and bring him back when they couldn't intentionally foul him.”
In the series opener, Simmons went just 3-of-10 from the free-throw line. Coincidentally enough, the Sixers lost by four points. An argument could definitely be made that if the 6-foot-10 guard hit more of those shots, his team could've actually won.
Nevertheless, it remains a big problem. Simmons needs to figure it out very quickly before it ultimately ends the Sixers' playoff run.
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