The Philadelphia 76ers were swept in the first round of last season's Eastern Conference playoffs by the Boston Celtics; Head coach Brett Brown was sacked after seven years in charge and replaced by Doc Rivers
Friday 4 December 2020 18:24, UK
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star Ben Simmons says a lack of "accountability" meant the team "weren't in a position" to win in last season's NBA playoffs.
The Boston Celtics swept the 76ers, who had been considered genuine title contenders at the start of the season, in the opening round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, with head coach Brett Brown sacked and replaced by Doc Rivers soon after.
Former Sixers guard Josh Richardson, traded to Dallas in the offseason, lamented in August the underachieving season could be pinned on a lack of accountability from management to the roster.
"We weren't in a position to go into the bubble and win," Simmons said on Friday.
"I think our mindset was off. Accountability is a huge part of winning. I think he (Richardson) is definitely right.
"Bringing Doc and all of these guys in, Doc's team, with all of these coaches around, the maturity has definitely risen with the team. It's been great to see that and see guys be accountable for certain things, and come here ready with a different mindset."
The defeat to the Celtics brought about an end to Brown's reign after seven seasons that put him in charge of the lose-first 'Process' era to consecutive 50-win seasons and berths in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
Simmons believes that "chemistry" issues were exposed by the intensity of the Orlando Disney World bubble in which the 2019-20 NBA season resumed following the four-month stoppage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
"I mean, you can't just come into a situation like the bubble if your guys aren't ready and don't have that chemistry and accountability already," Simmons said.
"Doc and I have spoken about it already. You can tell the teams that were doing well in the bubble were tight-knit and held accountable for certain things going on. You kind of see it with the Clippers now, things that are coming out."
Simmons referenced the Clippers, who Rivers coached last season and was sacked by after they blew a 3-1 playoff series lead in the Western Conference semi-finals against the Denver Nuggets.
The Clippers were painted in a story this week on The Athletic as an organisation without any accountability where star players called the shots and Rivers did little to reign them in. Clippers star Paul George even said in a separate interview Rivers failed to make the necessary adjustments to stop the losing and lead the Clippers into the next round.
Simmons said accountability - the new buzzword in Philly - starts with the players.
"There's only so much that can happen with players and coaches and that's on the players to make sure they're held accountable, and if they're not gonna listen and do certain things, they're not gonna win," Simmons said.
"But I think it's a great opportunity for us, being younger guys, to have somebody like Doc come in. We gotta get it done."
The Sixers also hired former Houston executive Daryl Morey to run basketball operations and gave the franchise a draft-night overhaul with deals that rid them of Al Horford and Richardson and brought in sharpshooter Seth Curry and drafted Kentucky guard Tyrese Maxey.
Simmons says he's 100 per cent healthy following surgery on his left knee in August that kept him from playing in the postseason. He averaged 16.4 points, 8.0 assists and 7.8 rebounds in his third full season.
Simmons expressed excitement about being coached by Rivers, who led the Celtics to the 2008 NBA championship. Rivers threw his support this week behind Simmons and noted, "I don't care about Ben's shooting as much as so many other people seem to care about it."
The 24-year-old Simmons has been the primary ballhandler for the Sixers for the bulk of his three-year career, but the 6ft 10in triple-double threat played power forward when the NBA season resumed in the bubble.
"I'm a player, man," Simmons said. "There's no, one, two, three, four, five with me. I don't really think you can put me in a position because of my talents and what I'm able to do. I think Doc would say the same thing, I go out there and make plays."
