Ben Simmons had perhaps the worst game of his young professional career at the worst possible time. Simmons was completely perplexed by the Celtics’ defense, which held the rookie guard/forward to one point on 0-for-4 shooting from the field. While Simmons had seven assists and five rebounds, the Sixers were outscored by 23 points in the 31 minutes he was on the floor, and reserve guard T.J. McConnell did a better job commanding the offense while Simmons sat.
Simmons has been fantastic this year and during the postseason, so it was jarring to watch him be such a major non-factor as Philly fell into an 0-2 hole. After the game, the young star was blunt about his performance, and put the onus on himself to get out of his own head as the series heads to Philadelphia.
"It was mainly what I did to myself. I think mentally, I was thinking too much."
Ben Simmons on his struggles in Game 2.#GameTime pic.twitter.com/xPgzKo7mTd
— NBA TV (@NBATV) May 4, 2018
“It was mainly what I did to myself,” Simmons said. “I think mentally, I was thinking too much, overthinking the plays, and I wasn’t just out there flowing and playing the way I play, which is free. I think, obviously, they have a gameplan, I know what that gameplan is, and I gotta play my game.”
The Rookie of the Year frontrunner certainly looked like he was uncomfortable whenever he was on the floor. Boston’s defense surely deserves a ton of credit for throwing him out of sorts, but Simmons seems to believe that things will level out if he’s able to get going.
For the Sixers, this is going to be a priority over the next few days. The team needs Simmons to get into a groove and run the offense, as it opens things up for their arsenal of shooters and for Joel Embiid. They have until Saturday afternoon to get things sorted out, and perhaps now that Philadelphia will play in front of their hometown fans, Simmons will be able to find the rhythm that evaded him in Game 2.
