Scottie Pippen Blames 76ers' Doc Rivers for Ben Simmons' Struggles on Offense
John Bazemore/Associated Press
Basketball Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen was asked about Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons’ offensive struggles this postseason during a wide-ranging interview with Tyler R. Tynes of GQ Magazine that published Thursday.
Amid his lengthy answer, Pippen pointed the finger at 76ers head coach Doc Rivers, saying he should not have been playing Simmons in the fourth quarter because of his struggles at the foul line.
“I watched a lot of games that Doc [Rivers] shouldn’t have had him in, in the fourth quarter. If I give you a deck of cards and I give you a deuce of heart and a deuce of diamond, and we playing Spades, why you keep grabbing those cards when you know you’re gonna lose in that category?
“This kid been this way the whole time and Doc brought him in and set him up for failure. He been like this! And you guys know he been like this. And Doc kept putting him in the game, he kept letting that team do fouls on him. Take him out the game! The Lakers did it with Shaq, and he’s bigger and more dominant and probably more fearless than Ben Simmons. Doc made him be a failure.”
Simmons shot just 33.3 percent from the charity stripe during his team’s Eastern Conference Semifinals loss against the Atlanta Hawks, who defeated Philadelphia 4-3 in the best-of-seven matchup. He also attempted three shots in the fourth quarter over the entire series and none in the final four games, per Sporting News.
This article will be updated to provide more information on this story as it becomes available.
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