Ben Simmons took just 11 shots from beyond the 3-point arc this season. His shot chart against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals was ridiculous, with nearly everything coming in and around the paint.
Simmons had a negative effect while being on the court in the series against the Celtics, and the conversation about his jumper necessarily began anew after the Philadelphia 76ers lost in Game 5 on Wednesday.
Former Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant recently said that if he were advising Simmons, his advice would be to completely rebuild the jumpshot of the 76ers rookie.
When asked about his plans during the offseason, Simmons said he would not be attempting a complete teardown of his jumper over the summer. Instead, Simmons apparently only wants to make minor changes.
Via Twitter:
Ben Simmons, on whether he's thinking of changing his shot. "Minor things. But changing the whole shot, no."
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) May 10, 2018
You can have a weird-looking jumpshot if you want, but the point is it has to work. Stephen Curry shoots from his chin. Shawn Marion’s jumper was ugly as hell. But they were putting the ball through the net.
Minor tweaks might not be what fans want to hear about, and if a top flight coach like Brad Stevens is going to be able to gameplan for Simmons not being able to shoot no doubt more coaches will employ his strategies in the regular season next year.
Simmons’ jumper has to get better so he has some kind of gravity outside of his drives. No doubt Philly fans will be hoping those “minor” changes get him where he needs to go.
