If the Philadelphia 76ers believe that Ben Simmons has the mental fortitude to fix his alarming shooting woes and remodel his game, head coach Doc Rivers didn't exactly convey that message on Sunday night.
Following the team's Game 7 loss to the Atlanta Hawks in the East semifinals, Rivers told reporters that he's uncertain whether Simmons can be a championship-level point guard, saying "I don't know how to answer that."
During Monday's edition of the JR SportBrief show, JR discussed Simmons' slew of issues, and addressed the same question that was posed to Rivers.
"Do I think that Philadelphia is ever going to win anything with Ben Simmons? The answer is no," JR said. "If you can get rid of him, do it. But why the hell would anybody want him right now? Why would anybody want him without showing that he can improve? Unless you have a gigantic shooter's lineup, where your point guard is now your power forward -- and that's Ben Simmons -- where you can get away with him just cutting to the basket. But any team, any place that he goes to, he's going to have to learn how to shoot.
"And not even learn how to shoot, he's going to have to be confident enough that he can make a damn jump shot. Because I bet you when he's in the gym, he can knock down the J's. But the minute that he's in front of zero people during the pandemic, or on television, or in front of 20,000 people, it's all upstairs. It's all in between his ears. And that's what needs to get fixed.
"So, I don't have confidence that Ben Simmons is going to be the point guard to lead them to a championship... Ben Simmons, if you can get rid of him, do it. I don't think Philly is winning anything with Ben Simmons as the point guard. And my mind will not change until this man can prove that he can shoot a basketball. If you can, pull the damn plug. Because the cake is out of the damn oven, it's sitting on the countertop, and it's starting to rot."
Simmons, the top overall pick in the 2016 draft, scored a measly seven points on just four shot attempts in Philadelphia's Game 7 loss. He also finished the postseason a ghastly 25-for-73 (34.2-percent) from the free throw line, the worst rate in NBA playoff history, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
To make matters worse, Simmons took a total of three shots in 56 fourth-quarter minutes across seven games against Atlanta, and averaged a scant 9.8 points per game.
JR's complete thoughts on Simmons and the Sixers can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow the JR SportBrief show on Twitter @JRSportBrief and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.