Ah so...it's all Simmons fault then no one else...no one else on that team could have done anything better, just Simmons. If Simmons isn't a championship player then neither is Embiid. A leader of a team just doesn't throw his teammate publically under the bus, no matter how good or bad of a game he had.
I don't care how the organization feels, they want to trade him, cool. That doesn't make it cool to publically throw him under the bus nor does it make it smart to do so. Him playing poorly isn't an excuse, players play poorly all the time, even star players. I didn't see Kawhi and the Clippers throwing PG13 under the bus when he's out there bricking every shot in playoff games.
That's just one perspective as the Doc comment got turned into a sound bite in my opinion. I've never seen PG or Kawhi play like Simmons did in the playoffs. Bricking shots is different than not taking shots, avoiding the offense, and terrified of shooting free throws. Lets be clear, Simmons was terrified in the playoffs and everyone on the court knew it.
That's why you give political answers to the press because they love sound bytes. I've also never seen a star championship player and supposed leader throw another player under the bus no matter how bad the other player plays.
The bigger issue is Simmons being so mentally weak to not have the accountability for his play against Atlanta and for his abysmal free throw percentage. If that's the case, then maybe that should tell you what kind of person Simmons is and why the Rockets would do well to steer clear.
Accountability isn't getting blamed in the press by his own teammates. Nor is it saying whatever the fans want him to say to the press. This has nothing to do with the Rockets.
Simmons got called out for his play and any rational person who watched the Sixers in the 2021 playoffs would know that. The fact so much emphasis is being what was said about Simmons by his own teammates and coach shows me how fragile Simmons is and how much he was protected up until that point. Sometimes the truth hurts and sometimes the truth is necessary. It's clear the Sixers got tired of Simmon's attitude, his lack of work ethic, his entitlement, and it all came out during the playoffs. There was nowhere for Simmons to hide anymore.
So Simmons is the only player on the team that's played poorly then... This take is very confusing to me, people act like it's cool for the star player to come out and blame the L on another player. Don't see Jordan doing it. Don't see Kobe. Duncan. Brady. Name an all time great. You don't put the L on another player or coach publically like that. You simply don't do it. Full stop. Stop making the excuse that Simmons played bad because he's not the only person on the team to play poorly.
I guess some personalities on that team are quite polarizing. I thought Rivers was good at recruiting and communicating based on some stories out there. You are likely more knowledgeable on the subject though, so I'm not sure. He does have lot of wins to his record They say never let a crisis go to waste. Although, I don't know if it applies to NBA organizations. We'll have to see how it plays out for Maury.
So he was supposed to sign for less? I don't get that. As I say, I think it's wrong for a star player to publically go after ANY player on the team in front of the press. That's it for me. You can go on about how bad he played or how much he's been paid but I think it's not something you see true championship players do. I can't even imagine Lebron blaming one player for a loss to the press, or curry, or Jordan, or Duncan, or insert multi-champion here. How Ben played, his contract, irrelevant to me. You don't blame a teammate for a loss to the press. I've been pretty consistent with this take for years now too but some people seem to think if you play poorly you get whatever comes your way.
I don't know if I know more or less but I think Doc always seems to flame out with his teams, like there's a peak with them, then they gloriously blow up. It was likely going to happen with the Kawhi clippers by the sound of things but they smartly replaced him before things got out of control. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if after this season Embiid starts packing his bags if Morey doesn't give him the help he needs. I guess we'll see what happens.
Bruce Arians threw Brady under the bus early on last season. We didn't see Tom crying about it. He got back in the lab and ended up winning another ring. It's called mental toughness. Ben should've used Rivers criticism as fuel to fill that empty tank of his. #MambaMentality
Lol… such a weird take…. It’s like you don’t believe in accountability. He signed for what he signed for and there are expectations that come with it. Cleary you are in a very small minority with your “don’t publicly trash a player”. To me exposed how weak Simmons is and how little his own teammates respect him. The Simmons-stans is a weird thing.
Actually, Tom's team wasn't too happy about that and that was milquetoast compared to saying a player might not be championship material. Like I said there is a difference between criticism and just crossing the line. Explaining what someone can do better or how they can do it better is a lot different than saying a player isn't good enough to win.
Not sure how you took that from my post, fans have a very odd way of wanting 'accountability'. As for me being in the small minority, sure, this is why this happens SOOO many times, right? I mean, every year Lebron, Curry, Giannis, Kawhi, Durant, Harden, etc etc call out teammates to the press. This is SOOOO common, right? That's why I hear Popovic, Spo, Nurse, Kerr, etc etc just call out players to the press every year! It happens so often my guy. By the way, my take so odd, but didn't answer my question...according to your take he should have taken less money...how does that make ANY sense? The Doc Rivers fan club is oddly strange here.
Maybe those players have never played with someone as entitled and such a no show as Simmons? Frankly, I’m trying to remember the last max player to be literally terrified on the court to the point he is passing up dunks and contact. Dramond and Durant got into publicly about Durant but that’s not really the same thing considering Durant’s pedigree. It doesn’t…. Why do you think that’s the argument? Or really relevant? Lol. Simmons took the money so he deserves the accountability and he deserves his team shaming him publicly. It’s almost like the team would know best about Simmons and are telling it like it is after an embarrassing playoffs. I guess I missed the Doc Rivers thread…. Just seems like you are stuffing a straw man to distract from the fact that Simmons sucked, let his team down, and showed no accountability. You act like it’s the Sixers fault they pampered him and treated him like a star up until he became a no show. You are disregarding everything up until Doc and Embiid said something.
Lol Arians did exactly that and it wasn't an issue. Some players respond well to criticism and others wilt. Ben couldn't handle Jimmy Butler's brand of leadership and accountability and wanted him gone. Meanwhile Joel thrived under the same tutelage. This is the NBA. No boys allowed.
