Simmons and the 76ers have yet to formally reconcile, but even if he is willing to play, poor shooting ability is still an important shortcoming for him. Recently, former NBA sharpshooter Ray Allen talked about Simmons' shooting in a podcast show, he believes that Simmons still has a chance to become a reliable pitcher, and taught his experience in long-range shooting training.
"Ben [Simmons] is a young man with a lot of upside," Ray Allen believes Simmons can still practice shooting, "in fact, I am not a natural shooter, I was not very good at shooting before." After entering college, I began to focus on improving my projection skills. When I train shots, I shoot all over the court because I want to make sure that all of my shots in the game are hard practiced in training, and I don't want any position to be my weakness. ”
Ray Allen also said: "When you train to shoot, you have to know that your shots are going to stand the test in the game. At the critical moment of the fourth quarter, how will the opponent pounce on you, and what will your shot posture be? What will your shooting angle be? These require you to practice repeatedly on the training ground and know it in your heart. ”
Aaron's meaning is clear, practicing three points is not just about mechanical repetition, but about preparing for the game. Simmons also practiced a lot of shooting, but with little success. In the training game highlights he released, the three-point shot seemed to be on target, but the defensive intensity he faced simply could not reach the level of the NBA game, and it was farther away from the defensive intensity of the key moments. When it came to the real game, he couldn't shoot accurately, and he didn't dare to shoot.
Allen still believed simmons could practice shooting, in fact, he had expressed a similar view three years ago, but at that time, he looked away. On a 2018 podcast show, the host asked Aaron: "If you had to choose a student between Ben Simmons and Lonzo Ball, who would you choose as a shooting coach?" Without the slightest hesitation, Aaron blurted out, "I will choose Ben." Subsequently, Allen said he was not confident he could correct Ball's shooting posture, but he was confident of making Simmons' shot more stable.
Three years on, Ball, who was looked down upon by Allen, has practiced a good three-point shooting, averaging 3.1 three-pointers per game last season, shooting 37.8% from three-point range, and in this year's preseason, Ball's three-point shooting rate is as high as 45%. What about Simmons? There has been no improvement, and so far in his career, he has shot only 14.7% of 34 from three-point range.