By learning from the offensive nightmare he was facing, head coach Tyronn Lue took away Ben Simmons’ playoff minutes in games six and seven for good. The memo must not get twisted, as he was playing extravagant defense and initiating transition possessions, but the limited scoring he produced helped the Denver Nuggets significantly.
To guard Simmons, all David Adelman needed to do was defend the passing lanes and hustle on the offensive glass, which is seamless in the postseason. They did not expect him to score, as the former first overall pick was offline on countless easy attempts in the painted area.
The fact that Simmons could not shoot was detrimental enough, but as soon as Lue noticed his layup package was nonexistent, he was reasonably terminated from the rotation for the last two games, and joined Amir Coffey as a veteran who could not be put to use.
Despite being the six-foot-ten, 240-pound backup to Ivica Zubac, Simmons’ offense was light-years from the Croatian Star. He shot 33.3% from the field against Denver, which is absurd to comprehend.
His unfavorable scoring has led one of the most credible Clippers insiders to believe he will not be back in Inglewood, California, next season, which is a sunshine ending to the cloudy storm Simmons provoked.
The LA Clippers will be in the clear of a significant disaster if they sway away from re-signing Ben Simmons
Ben Simmons had the most incredible debut one could ask for from him, posting 12 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, with three steals and one block in an overtime conquest over the Utah Jazz. The plus side to having a first game as such is that there is heavy optimism the LSU product would resurrect his career, but the downside was that the standard was set far too high.
Simmons never reached a performance like this again through the remainder of the regular season and playoffs. He had moments of jaw-dropping dimes and formidable defensive possessions, but ultimately, points were not tallied.
Furthermore, Law Murray, one of the most credible LA insiders in the industry, recently gave the fans a stronger understanding of how the front office will approach Simmons in the coming months.
"He's a free agent. He eventually faded out of the rotation completely for the Clippers. I don't expect him to be back. If he comes back it would be on a very low number."Law Murray
That said, the Simmons era in Los Angeles is near the end, and executive Lawrence Frank will have to restart his search for a backup center once the NBA Finals are over and the summer officially begins.