Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Doc Rivers backtracks on Ben Simmons comments

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated 6/21/21

Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers backtracked some on comments he made about Ben Simmons immediately after the team’s Game 7 loss to Atlanta.

Rivers struck a more optimistic tone about Simmons on Monday, a day after the Sixers were eliminated. He said that he remained “bullish” on Simmons but that the former first overall pick had work to do in light of his awful postseason.

Rivers: “I’m very bullish on Ben still, but there’s work to do. There is, and Ben will be willing to do it. That’s the key. Sometimes you have to go through stuff to see it and be honest with it. Obviously, what Ben just experienced and went through, I can’t imagine that.”

— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) June 21, 2021

That’s a bit of a different tone from the one Rivers struck immediately after the defeat. It probably would’ve been a better answer, because Rivers sure seemed to be signaling a lack of faith in Simmons.

It’s going to be a challenge for the Sixers to get the best out of Simmons. His confidence looks shot, and his trade value is low. To make matters worse, it doesn’t seem he has the faith of his teammates, either. A role change may be necessary to take advantage of his strengths and more effectively hide his glaring weaknesses.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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