Doc Rivers quickly acknowledged it was a loaded question.
A reporter asked Rivers after Monday’s 121-106 victory over the Bulls if the longtime coach thought the 76ers should present a video tribute for the embattled Ben Simmons during Thursday night’s game against the Nets at a sold-out Wells Fargo Center. Simmons is expected to sit on the Brooklyn bench but has yet to play since the Feb. 10 James Harden trade due to “return to competition reconditioning/back soreness.”
“Yeah, I do, actually,” Rivers replied. “Ben did a lot of good things here, you know? It didn’t end well, just like marriages and all kinds of other things don’t end well. … It’s funny – I don’t know if we are or not, but I’d have no issues with it.”
The reaction from some Sixers’ fans on Twitter was swift.
One suggested running Simmons passing up an uncontested dunk late in the top-seeded Sixers’ June 2021 Game 7 home playoff loss to the Hawks on a repeating loop.
Another said they might “repurpose one of the off-season videos of him making jump shots against 5’2” electricians at the local YMCA.” Yet another suggested “a montage of free throws to ‘I Missed Again’ by Phil Collins.”
The national media is weighing in, too, with ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins and Richard Jefferson recommending to skip the video idea.
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The Philly faithful is upset because it overwhelmingly supported Simmons, much like fellow former No. 1 overall draft pick Markelle Fultz, through his offensive regression in last year’s postseason, when he hit just .333 of his free throws (15 of 45) in the Atlanta series.
Had he converted a little over half of the foul shots, the Sixers would’ve advanced to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2001. He also didn’t attempt a field goal in the fourth quarters of Games 4-7, three of which the Sixers lost, despite playing more than 40 minutes.
Choosing not to pass instead of dunking the ball with 3 minutes, 30 seconds remaining in a two-point Game 7 vs. the Hawks started turning fans against him.
Once word got out that Simmons and agent Rich Paul asked the Sixers to trade him and that he didn’t plan on playing for Philadelphia again, the fan base became incensed. Yes, Simmons was a three-time all-star selection and the runner-up for 2020-21 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, but the fans viewed this as a player who took the easy way out by leaving rather than putting in the necessary work to address his shooting shortcomings.
While Rivers jokingly said “our fans are so silent, so I can’t imagine anything (negative being directed at Simmons),” Brooklyn coach Steve Nash and the 25-year-old Simmons understand what’s coming.
“I don’t think he’s naive to think he’s not going to get some boos,” Nash told reporters Tuesday. “I hope he enjoys it – it’s part of the game. … He needs to be with his teammates and get the whole Philly thing out of the way a little bit.”
The Simmons wrath in Philadelphia will likely continue throughout his NBA career, especially when he plays against the Sixers for the first time. That could happen as soon as in the playoffs or during the 2022-23 regular season.
PhillyVoice’s Kyle Neubeck wrote Tuesday that “league sources (are) anticipating that Simmons and his representation will file a formal grievance against the Sixers” in an effort to recoup the $20 million in fines that the team collected during the four months he didn’t play for them this season. That drew some critical responses.
Philly fans booed native son Kobe Bryant every time he touched the ball when he played here once he said the Lakers were “going to cut your hearts out” after a 2001 Game 3 NBA Finals win on the way to a 4-1 series victory. That didn’t change until Bryant’s final game at the Wells Fargo Center on Dec. 1, 2015, when repeated ovations caused a smiling Kobe to remark “they got me.”
As for Simmons, Harden and star center Joel Embiid downplayed the significance of facing Brooklyn with Simmons on the bench in a nationally broadcast game on TNT. Embiid said “it’s a regular matchup for me” and noted the Sixers need to win to even the season series at 2-2.
While the last part may be true, Thursday could end up being a memorable evening.
Tom Moore: tmoore@couriertimes; @TomMoorePhilly
