Brooklyn Nets star Ben Simmons has not forgotten what the Philadelphia 76ers put him through over the past year.
You will recall, after last season’s playoffs, blame for Philly’s failures was largely laid at Simmons’ feet. His tentativeness and inability to provide offensive support to Joel Embiid were cited as reasons why he was a problem, and all of that ultimately led to him getting traded to Brooklyn this season.
After the Sixers were eliminated from the postseason by the Miami Heat on Thursday night, due in no small part to James Harden going full Playoff Ben Simmons, fans noticed something interesting occurring on Twitter.
Specifically, fans couldn’t help but take note of the tweets that Simmons was liking:
Yikes.
To be clear, there is definitely merit in the criticism that Simmons chose to amplify regarding Harden. Over his last two fourth quarters, Harden scored exactly zero points. In Thursday’s deciding Game 6, with the season on the line, he shot 0-for-2 in the second half.
Harden disappeared just like Simmons did last season.
All that being said – Simmons would probably be wise to focus on himself and his own career. He has a lot to prove.
After getting traded to the Nets, there was optimism that he would be able to return to the floor and help his team in the playoffs. Instead, Simmons deemed himself unable to play and sat out. His teammates’ reaction to that speaks for itself.
When your primary focus appears to be chilling with your girl and dressing up in kooky outfits, you don’t have much room to mock others for their poor play.
There’s a reason why the Nets are already exploring a Simmons trade.
Now that looks like a fun honeymoon. https://t.co/eofbMHSIuf
— Game 7 (@game7__) May 13, 2022
When Brooklyn and Philly made their swap, many felt like the move checked a lot of boxes for both sides. A win-win.
But as time has progressed, given where both the Nets and Sixers ultimately ended up, it’s hard not to view it now as a rare lose-lose.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
