@@hueyfreeman5509 He's a 26 year-old kid dealing with a degree of pressure you will never understand, and mental health problems you hopefully will never be able to relate to. I'm genuinely impressed with his transparency and vulnerability.... but he's still a 26 year-old kid. Wtf did you expect? Enjoy your armchair.
i think that's the best part of this podcast in general. he's understanding because he's been there but he's also not going to just lob softballs because he's buddy-buddy with dudes. most of all, he just remains respectful even when he's being critical.
@@itsstjay5359 it's tough cuz every likes talking about someone, but it's a different energy when face to face. A lot of reporters or podcasts would bs around the question
I am happy that Ben is happier with himself. I can't wait to see him on the court too, hopefully he's improved over the past year n a half. Dude was a dawg
He fleeced the sixers into paying him millions for a year long vacation. I'd be happy to. Dude acted like he couldnt even do a 3-on-3 drill, eevn though he was at practice, b/c he was sad. Man's farthest thing from a dog, he's a millennial.
I truly believe Jimmy Butler was the missing piece to that team, that was the only time I feel that Ben never had an issue. Had kawhi not made that shot in game 7, maybe Philly wins that series in OT and they win the chip. Still don’t get why they chose Tobias OVER him… ridiculous.
I get where Simmons is coming from tbh. Things happen so fast, and especially as a pass first kind of person it’s very easy to divert to hitting an open guy in the heat of the moment when you just see an opponents Jersey coming at you. He was a little off balance and at an awkward angle, so he would’ve had to gather himself a bit before going up with it, which was obviously the right play. He was probably in his own head during that time anyway haha I hope he can get back to playing at a high level next year.
dude you go up and take the layup. period. there's no excuse for not shooting that layup. Everyone who has ever played ball at any level knows the feeling of not wanting to shoot a layup because you don't want to get blocked. but we all know in those moments that we should've just gone up. nba players are supposed to be different.
You’re way overthinking it. He passed up a dunk in the 4th quarter because he was playing scared, as simple as that. It’s a 6’11 guy going to the rim with a 6’1 guy rotating over to help, no awkward angle or pass first playing style could explain not dunking on Trae’s head in that situation.
true. could maybe be a factor as to why in the off-season or practice videos you see him knocking down jumpshots, but once he’s on the big stage, they aren’t dropping nor does he even attempt them. as someone who has always battled with mental health issues myself, when my anxiety is high it really affects my performance, especially shooting and playing more aggressively
@@immafatazn I'd argue every pro will look good in an open gym. Shaq is a better three point shooter than your average Joe but to shoot consistently at the NBA lvl is a different story.
@@immafatazn People who don’t have it/suffer from it just can’t wrap their head around it, (anxiety/depression/etc…) I’ve had these issues from the moment of birth… (Not situational, but experiences have/can exacerbate it…) It’s a bio-chemical imbalance that I deal with… I have sympathy for anyone who suffers from any type of mental illness! 🙏🏼 Again it’s not something that’s “visual”, albeit something that people can see it manifest on the outward… If you don’t have it/some form of it, be very very thankful! I hope Ben continues to grow and get better in all facets of his life.
Maybe I’m insensitive but this dude just screams coward! Rooting for him to be out of the NBA asap! This dude is the epitome of spineless, in the clutch!
He can’t even admit the truth… instead he had a cop out SMH Why can’t he just say that he didn’t want to get fouled and go to the free throw line? He must have horrible excuses in the locker room after they lose…
because Its deeper than that, man was clearly anxious and made the wrong call in the moment. Being scared is definitely apart of it, but theres context to everything and this podcast made me realize he is a human like everyone else. He made mistakes BIG ONES but its about takling about it and admitting what you think you did wrong
This Is basketball. Basketball. A ball goes In a hoop. He shouldn't put putting a ball over a hoop over his mental health. This argument is a joke 😅. Glad Ben got help
Happy to see Ben smiling. It’s crazy how much crap he’s taken. I was afraid he’d become suicidal after all that. I hope he has recovered mentally and goes on to have a great career. Go, Ben!
@@calripkenboi bro u can't even handle the pressure in the yt comments half the time lmao imagine if u just happened to be good at something and had fame
@@ferragamodes6769 Imagine if Kobe cried because he bricked that game winner his rookie year & everybody said he made the wrong play. JR Smith made a bigger mistake than Ben, you didn’t see him crying about everybody blaming him for the loss. These dudes nowadays are looking for excuses when there’s people that actually suffer from mental health issues. Meanwhile they just want to be divas and don’t like when everything doesn’t go there Way. They throw hissy fits instead of being accountable for their actions and mistakes. Nothing wrong mentally he was laughing and joking on the bench in Brooklyn picking up the ball on the sideline and running with it please spare me.
Ben’s facial expressions show he isn’t fully at peace and not fully healed mentally yet. However Ben answers to JJ’s questions were handled incredibly well. I’m sure Ben will get fully passed it soon
Completely agree. But props to actually facing up to it and being asked the tough question on a public platform. Can't be easy, knowing the question is coming.
He was definitely non existent.. especially in the fourth quarter all players… Ben has ton of talent but this mental issues get to him and make him too scared to be a leader
JJ didn't make it about one play. Everyone else has. He did not have a good series, but still contributed a lot. People seems mystified that a player can have a bad series in the playoffs. They used to dog Steph Curry with that.
@@ricobarth that play was just the last straw. He's shat the bed in multiple years in the playoffs, this wasn't the only bad series where's he barely attempts to score (let alone shoot the ball)
Take a shot? If he take those shots and brick them then he is causing his team. He created the most open shot and other dudes didn’t hit them. Forcing a shot is something Westbrook does. Why would buoy want Ben to take shots?
And was thrown under the bus by his head coach and Embiid as if THEY were perfect in THEIR execution of things...smh. THAT'S why the brother didn't want to play for them anymore...you don't do what they did to him and, basically dump the whole games failure on him because of that play... The the organization wouldn't just let him go to another team... They perpetuated it further. He didn't want to play with Embiid nor, play for Doc after what they did PERIOD. The respect is GONE. The trust is GONE!!!
@@williefaulker right. It was a culmination of stuff. Sixers fans supported Ben year after year. He's going to add a jumper this year, he's going to be more aggressive, he's going to this that etc. Is it his fault that he's not LeBron? No. But Sixers fans were rooting for him and the frustration kept building up. That series was more than just not dunking. Not dunking was just an exclamation point on an awful series. Simmons was super passive. Furkan Korkmaz took more attempts than Ben. Credit where credits due. Like Ben said, he was guarding the best player and honestly shutting Trae down a little but Ben's one of the best two way stars. He's doing what he's known for on defense but he didn't deliver on offense. He was way below his averages in scoring metrics
@@BlueHundred1 did you read anything else ? I LOVE embiid. One of my favorite plays but he and DOC baited multiple years to. They’re not perfect and they all had to do with the downfall of that iteration of the sixers
I love how JJ combines honesty with empathy. He's honest with you if you messed up without completely shaming you for messing up. That's how authentic, real people are. And that's how people are who have authentic relationships. Respect.
You know what I made Ben jokes when that play happened but after hearing this and the breakdown of it you can see why Ben did what he did in that moment it's unfortunate but it is what it is and he seems excited to continue on with the nets.
It wasn't just "one play". It was the ENTIRE series leading up to that play. Plus the previous 5 years of him not only not improving his shot, but him regressing every single year. It was a culmination of all of that and Ben's obvious unwillingness to fix it.
Stop lying bro he wasn’t regressing he just didn’t progress exponentially like everyone expected he came in got better at what he was good at and became an ELITE DEFENDER dpoty level type. The jumper will come w time
Damn crazy that he regressed into an all NBA player and DPOY candidate. Remember when he dropped 40 points on Gobert and the Jazz the last season we saw him play? Rookie Simmons would have dropped 60.
Yo its crazy how fast JJ went from retired NBA vet to one of peoples’ favorite media members. Shows how respected he is that he’s able to reach out to these guys, have real conversations about the things fans wanna hear about and players are more than willing to answer for him. Take notes ESPN, FOX and every sports channel, podcast, or whatever. We don’t wanna hear about “how is this gonna affect Lebron’s legacy”, we want real insight into what happened in moments like those
The issue on that series is his hesitation to shoot or drive to the lane and being fouled because of his low FT percentage ala Hack-a-Shaq. The reason Doc had him less 4Q mins. Also on that play, after passing to Matisse the ball, he should have peddled back to defend Gallo.
Imagine having one of the best shooters of all-time on your team and still not being able to hit an outside shot. Wish they would have asked if he ever asked JJ for pointers or tried to tweak his mechanics
I'm sure they have/he has. His jumper doesn't even look bad but he just doesn't take them. Giannis, Embiid, AD, Westbrook, Rondo are/were poor 3 point shooters but they still take em. You gotta keep defenses honest. Don't need the volume like Trae or Steph or Dame but he's gotta take it here and there. LeBron wasn't a great shooter early on but still took jumpers because you have to sometimes
He is a professional athlete. I don't YOU could imagine ish, he is paid handsomely to do the job and he bailed on his team that year, the following year, plus he bailed on the Nets in the playoffs. Cmon with that nonsense. He IS A Professional Athlete. You are mentally challenged
You dunk it not solely for the dunk - it's an overall indication of your confidence, mental strength, and a existential view of where your head is at. Fear manifests in many ways and that was a perfect example. I hope he gets through this he's a good kid.
That's great he didn't shy away from going over it and giving an understandable explanation. That's good therapy. I've been there as a pass first point, where you really didn't realize just how much space you actually had because you're seeing the play before it happens. You know you're going to draw a defender and their man is going to be open but sometimes they're late to react and you end up just open. It's like the same when a ref blows the whistle because he anticipated the foul and it turned out not to be a foul.
really? seeing the play before it happens and yet did not see that the shortest guy and liability on defense on the other team for the already late help coverage??? that is what you called seeing the play before it happens??!
@@cudackedees3327Yes, from where he was underneath the basket you're not scanning the floor and have a visual. Seeing the play before it happens in that instances means he knew how the defense would react and a teammate would be open. He himself admitted what he should've done but he was on pass autopilot. Some people know exactly what he's talking about. Myself included if we lost in pick up being like 'I should've shot that".
@@rashb3994 autopilot? Seeing the court? What is he seeing actually? Imagination?! You either see the court and be the pilot or you did not see the court and running on autopilot. The two is oxymoron. They don’t coexist and still work if working logic still exists.
@@rashb3994 btw you do know that any system that is on autopilot when the system is not functioning right and do make a mistake. It is the actually pilot’s job and responsibility to oversee it all the time to make sure to take over control and take responsibility of that so called autopilot and make the correction. You do know that right! Right!
@@cudackedees3327 You have to high basketball IQ or exceptional feel for the game to get what I'm saying. This doesn't mean you're not extremely knowledgeable. It means you're not going understand unless you've experienced it or studied those guys like Magic, Bird, Jokic, Nash, etc who see the play developing before it happens. Hence make insane passes before everybody else has even processed it.
It was good to hear from him as he’s had a lot aimed in his direction since that series and everyone deserves a chance to put their side of the story across. However, as much as he says he saw a Jersey coming towards him so he passed it to his teammate: 1) His teammate wasn’t exactly wide open, there was a player nearby who was close enough to foul him as we saw 2) Simmons is 6’10 and 250lb or so, surely he’s big enough to dunk or lay up through contact against most players in the NBA? At worst that would have been Capela who’s probably about similar size so you just back yourself and take your chances. If it’s anyone else then he’s got the size and strength to dunk all over them (as Collins has done to Embiid in the same series if I recall correctly). I don’t wish mental health struggles on anyone, but I can completely understand why Doc and Embiid were unable to contain their frustration in the press conferences after the game. For me he has to take it to the hoop, no excuses. One thing I’d have liked JJ to put to him was the 4th quarter shooting stats across the series. He barely shot in any of them for the entire series as far as I can remember
The fact that Matisse didn’t pass it back even though Ben was wide open and the fact that nobody on the hawks bothered to pick up Ben tells u everything you need to now that they knew and the whole arena knew he wasn’t gonna shoot.
Why is nobody asking him about his inability to make free throws. That was the major theme/issue for that entire playoff run. The pass on the open dunk wasn’t what lost us the game but Ben and Matisse inability to make free throws and outside jumpers cost us atleast a game or two in that series. Embiid and Harris get all the blame but atleast they tried to score and could make open free throws to close a game out. That should be his main responsibility as a lead guard of a championship team. That’s the reason why Doc declined to say he could win a championship with him
Because he’s not going to answer that question genuinely. If anyone does, he will say what he always does. He does so much on the court, why focus on that? The real answer is that he never dedicated the time and effort to do it. Anyone can hire a world class free throw coach and shoot at least 80% consistently but that would take effort.
So him saying he has weaknesses in his game doesn’t mean anything. Shooting does translate to the free throw line to which he is not efficient. He miss those free throws people would hate him regardless. And that game ben Simmons defense should be highlighted.
Its crazy how quickly people will change very strong opinions. I bet most people just saw the thumbnails for this interview and already changed their mind on Simmons without even watching.
This is what Ben should have said right after it happened! Smart, easy explaination! But when you don't address the situation . . . everyone else will --- and the narrative won't be to your liking! #believethat #manupandfacethecritics
Honestly that makes a lot of sense. He's completely off balance, he's expecting a faster defender, unaware which defender it is, he knows the one other dude on his team that's there can dunk as well, and he also isn't fully aware of how close everyone is. And the speed is way faster than it seems it is on TV. Him not just dunking makes full sense when you really factor those things in.
@@TheCrimsonVeil Bruh he should have dunked it, their is no justification for what Ben did. He didn’t want to get fouled, so he passed it quick and prayed thybulle made the shot let’s be real 💯
@@ReelsGaloreHoops Yes. He didn't want to get fouled and thought Thybulle had it without fully realizing the situation because he just spun around and made some assumptions. In the moment it seemed like the smarter play.
Crossing arms when asked. An obvious defensive stance. "Mental health" but only discloses it when it is convenient for him, all the while flexing his lifestyle. He alienated his own team for a whole year, when he could have been forgiven, and even taken cared of, by simply being honest at the start.
Man, this video just made me realize how much I was wrong on blaming it all on Ben Simmons for losing those series. I feel bad about it, he has changed a lot, seems a nice guy.
Honestly, it tells you everything you need to know that his instinct wasn't to go up and dunk it but to go pass it off. Ben is not just bigger than Trae Young, but almost anyone in the Hawks at that time. This just confirms that he was in his own head in that series.
Ben Simmons is displaying some really selfish, egotistical, vain and childish behaviour in this interview. Examples: - "Things come easy to me" and "got fined for not lifting weights but I'm the f***ing strongest in the team" naturally gifted but doesn't want to put in the work to improve. Opposite of a Giannis type player, who is all work. - "Wanted to do right by the team" but turned up to training camp and didn't work hard in training. - "They could have flown out to LA to see me but they didn't" egotistical and wanted everyone to come to him. - Pass in Atlanta game "but I don't know why it was a big deal" but listen carefully, he didn't say "I made the wrong read and should have dunked" he skirted around it like a teenager.
Yes! Everyone keeps saying how he handled this well and hopes he has a break out season. Na bruh has not taken accountability and will never work hard to win. I honestly wonder how he'll react when kd and kyrie realize he doesn't work on his craft at all.
Damn NBA fans can’t be pleased I guess he takes responsibility says he made the wrong read and should have gone up with it and you complain he doesn’t say anything about it for months and you complain
@@kazejay7229 there's a clear lack of maturity in every aspect of the conversation. His first response is to be defensive "why you saying that I'm doing xyz so great!". Mental health should not be a sole defence for some of his behaviour...
LOL. You act like a Ben supporter can't do the same exact thing. A supporter can pull up 10 quotes showing the opposite. Just admit, you didn't listen with an open mind. You were searching for something to whine about.
Good to see him talking and addressing the issues he had back in philly. He also look like in a better mental space. Hopefully he gets a good redemption arc in nets
@@jeanlouis1898 And 1000 years a 14 year old would be married and have 4 kids, then we realised that didn’t actually make him a man. It just made him a married boy with kids.
Real easy to judge Ben after what happened and all the stories surrounding him not playing, but you finally hear the first account from Ben himself, you gotta respect the guy
In real time watching, the pass made sense, Gallinari was behind him and trae coming for what I assume would be a strip/foul to send Ben to the line so I was honestly pretty happy he passed it lol. Thybulle wasn't ready for it and then missed the free throws, but i can make sense of the pass.
No! That doesn't make sense! You're an athletic 6'10 dude who spins in front of the basket and you see someone you have 6 inches on, you already have the ball raised up and your first instinct is to pass?!!! No!! He's afraid of getting fouled!! That's why he barely shot the ball in 4th quarters of that entire series
Na that's a huge reach. They play the clip in this vid. Ben was right underneath the hoop literally all he had to do was jump up and he could've dunked it. That would've been an easy 2 + a chance to get to the line. Instead he passed to Thybulle then stays in front of him so Thybulle has to try to get around Ben + 2 Hawks lol. Not to mention Thy is a terrible offensive player yet Ben was really so scared he'd rather give it to him then try to get it himself. Bad look, bad decision.
@@OfficialJHoly Then he lost track of where he was every fourth quarter in games 4, 5, 6, AND 7. No shots. Zero. If he _had_ gone for the dunk over Trae, that would have been his first shot attempt in the fourth quarter in four games, and, if I remember correctly, his first points in the fourth quarter all series.
The play is what it is. Teams come up short in the Playoffs all the time. My frustrations with Ben have always been about refusing to add to his game. Capping his own potential and holding his team back. Hopefully he's in the right situation now where that won't be an issue.
This whole interview was an incredibly wasted opportunity. JJ asked him a bunch of easy fluff questions and let him get away with vague answers while not taking any responsibility for a situation he started because of his refusal to just shoot the damn ball. How do you ask him about the play where he passed up the dunk and let him make it seem it was just people putting too much blame on him for one play, but then not ask him about the multiple 4th quarters where he didn't shoot? Smh, but this is the "new media": comfort > journalism.
@@hueyfreeman5509 Before I go, here is a piece of advice. Buy some Jordan's, and get on a court and show Ben Simmo s that your pompous babbling is right.
That's true it was one play and I think the media and fans may have took it to an extreme to how bad it was. But dude needs to hit his free throws and make a jump shot. That's unacceptable in my opinion he needs to improve on that after how many years of speculating that he will.
Thats definitely not an extreme it literally cost them that game and his mental scaredness to go to the line and make 1 free throw cause he's scoring that over trae
JJ definitely too nice sometimes with these guys man, i know they are friends and he isnt out to humiliate ben but we all know why ben didnt shoot that ball, its cause he was afraid he was going to get fouled and have to go to the freethrow line, he was averaging 34% from the line in those playoffs and nobody asked about it once
I'm not even sure that was it. If he knew it was Trey ... he'd probably be pretty confident he could dunk it regardless of the foul. I think he lost control of the ball in the spin move, and, once he recovered, like he said, assumed he was going to be more crowded than he was. That kind of feel is usually an asset, but sometimes it's off.
@@DanielFolsom probably only Ben knows but we all know he isn’t gonna say what actually he felt because he needs to make excuses so he could seem in the right
@@yourfavoritespoon9958 I mean I don't think he said he was right? He explicitly said he should have dunked it. So what's more likely, (1) what he said happened, or (2) assuming that a poor FT shooter was so petrified of taking free throws that he wouldn't dunk on a short pg.
It makes no sense for Ben to give up guaranteed 2 pts with a dunk on a short point guard to tey get 2 from the line. Trey isn't gonna block Ben, so if it was a foul it would be an AND +1. Did you ever think about that!? This is a standard play coz he thought there was Gallinari right behind him so he opens the floor for Matisse. It was a mistake but a standard play.
Mental health is such a hard thing to actually fix as a male especially in professional sports. Money isn't everything sometimes your mental health is more important and I applaud Ben
I feel like Ben thought that his teammate getting an open lay would be better then Trae fouling him and sending him to the line. His teammate wasn't as open as he thought, but he at least should have boxed out Gallinari to give Mattis a better chance, but I don't think it is as bad as people make it out to be.
updated results on Ben Simmons almost over 2 years later and he still has not recovered from the game with the Hawks and refuses to go to the basket and shoot jumpers or make free throws with the Nets 26 minutes a game for 42 games averaging 6 points a game and still injured a lot 🤦🏻♂️
