Shaquille O’Neal wasn’t impressed with 76ers star Ben Simmons’ play against the Hawks.
Simmons laid egg after egg against the Hawks in the second round of the playoffs, and his team was eventually bounced 103-96 in game seven. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
I don’t know why y’all hating Ben Simmons. My man shot a ridiculous 100% from the field in the 4th Quarter of NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Jordan and LeBron never did it! pic.twitter.com/ITlXvwyiG1— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) June 21, 2021
“If he was in my locker room, I would have knocked his a** out,” Shaq said after the 76ers were eliminated from the playoffs Sunday by the Hawks when talking about Philly’s point guard.
You can listen to his full comments below.
Shaq on Ben Simmons’ postgame comments: “if he was in my locker room i would have knocked his ass out.” pic.twitter.com/YmzfU4zHs8
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) June 21, 2021
It’s not hard to understand where Shaq is coming from. Simmons was supposed to be the savior in Philly. Instead, he’s been a guy who has never done anything in the clutch.
It’s hard to put into words just how bad he was against the Hawks. The dude’s is so one-dimensional offensively that it’s not even funny.
Ben Simmons played 34 minutes in the 4th quarter of Games 4-7 of this series (76ers lost 3 of the 4 games).
He had 0 field goal attempts in those 34 minutes. pic.twitter.com/NXhOdR88Pt
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 21, 2021
For a guy who was the first overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft, he hasn’t even come close to meeting expectations.
In fact, I’m not sure he can even lead a team to a deep run and a championship. You know who might else agree? His head coach Doc Rivers.
“I don’t know the answer to that right now.”
-Doc Rivers after being asked if Ben Simmons could be a point guard on a championship team. pic.twitter.com/rw51V7rkRE
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 21, 2021
When you lay it all out on the line and one of the faces of the franchise just doesn’t get it done, it’s pretty easy to see why his teammates might be so upset. Don’t be shocked if the 76ers decide to move off Simmons. At this point, it just might make sense.