Somehow, the Atlanta Hawks have ousted the Philadelphia 76ers from the NBA playoffs, prevailing in Philadelphia in Game 7 — despite the fact that Trae Young started the game 1 for 18 from the floor. Joel Embiid had to play the series with a torn meniscus in his right knee, Seth Curry scored a lot of points for Philadelphia but doesn’t play defense. Then there was Ben Simmons, who missed 30 free throws in the series and shot 34.2% from the charity stripe in these playoffs, the worst free throw percentage by any player in NBA history with at least 70 attempts. In four of the seven games in this series, Atlanta held him under 10 points, and he only had five points in Game 7. Rumors about trading Simmons elsewhere are already swirling as Philadelphia’s experience with The Process seems to have come to a crashing halt.
As you consider your sports betting for the NBA, look at some other news items.
NBA News: The Rumor Mill
Kemba-Horford trade designed to help Boston stars
Brad Stevens’ first big trade after moving upstairs from head coach to president of basketball operations sent Kemba Walker and a first-round draft pick to Oklahoma City, to bring Al Horford back to Beantown. The purpose behind the trade, Stevens made, was to help maximize Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, the duo of All-Star wings who need help if Boston is going to contend in the East. Kemba Walker had just signed a max deal two years ago to take over running from the point from the departed Kyrie Irving. However, swapping Walker and Horford saves the Celtics $20 million over the next two years, and Horford fits well in Boston, so the deal seemed like the right opportunity. Stevens had coached Horford for three seasons after Boston brought him in from Atlanta after they didn’t ink Kevin Durant to a deal. Horford went to Philadelphia in 2019, where he struggled to mesh with Joel Embiid, and he had a solid season in Oklahoma City before he and the team both were on board with shutting his season down.
Phoenix continuing to distribute the ball well with CP3 on the shelf
Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul had to miss Game 1 of the Suns’ Western Conference Final series against the Los Angeles Clippers. Even without Paul, though, Phoenix edged the Clippers, 120-114 on Sunday. Devin Booker had a transcendent game for the Suns, with 40 points, 13 boards and 11 assists, shooting 15 of 29 from the floor. Booker focused on distribution with Paul out, at least in the early going, but as Paul George came alive for the Clippers in the third quarter, Booker started to enter the scoring game more aggressively, matching George just about possession for possession. Booker either scored or gave the assist on 43 of Phoenix’s last 50 points of the game, and he’s only the sixth player in league history to put up more than one 40-point game in his first postseason and the first Phoenix player since Steve Nash to have a postseason triple-double. Paul is expected back for Game 2 after continuing to show no symptoms of COVID-19 subsequent to his positive test result, but how badly do the Suns need him?
76ers have devised a plan to help Ben Simmons’ shooting
As we noted above, Ben Simmons’ woeful free throw shooting played a significant role in Philadelphia’s disappointing series loss to Atlanta. Once again, the talk in the City of Brotherly Love is how Simmons will work on his shooting. Not even 24 hours after Atlanta sent Philadelphia at home, Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers said that the team has a plan for Simmons’ shooting woes that will include what Rivers calls “the right work” done in “the right way,” without anything in terms of specific details. Simmons already has plenty of quickness and size, and his distribution is excellent. He is one of the elite shutdown defenders in the NBA. However, he can’t shoot from the outside, and he can’t shoot free throws reliably. He passed on an open dunk in the fourth quarter, ostensibly because he was afraid of getting fouled and having to make free throws. It’s a problem that Doc Rivers needs to solve.
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