Ben Simmons free-throw shooting is going to be exposed later in the playoffs

Losing Joel Embiid was ultimately one of the biggest deciding factors in this game, but Ben Simmons definitely did not help his team down the stretch. In the fourth-quarter of Game 4, the Wizards started playing “hack-a-Shaq” with Simmons, sending him to the line knowing that free-throws are not his strongest area. 

In the fourth, Simmons went to the line four different times, converting on 4 of his 8 free-throw opportunities. The Wizards intentionally fouled him on three consecutive 76ers’ possessions and this philosophy worked pretty well since Simmons shot 50% from the line. 

Seeing as Washington was getting two or three points every possession and Philly was getting just one point for Simmons’ free-throw, the Wizards were able to create a lead late in the game that was too much for the 76ers to overcome. 

If the 76ers are to be a true championship contender and potentially reach the NBA Finals, then Simmons is going to have to make his free-throws because other teams are going to start hacking at him to send him to the line. 

For his career, Ben Simmons has shot 59.7% from the free-throw line, which is why all he should be doing at practice is getting shots up from the “charity stripe.” These are free points the 76ers are leaving on the floor and teams are going to expose them this way, especially knowing that Embiid and Harris can take over a game when they get going. 

It is possible that Philadelphia will explore taking Ben Simmons out of the game late in the fourth-quarter to avoid having to deal with him missing free-throws, but then they would potentially miss out on his playmaking abilities. How Doc Rivers handles this situation moving forward should definitely be interesting to watch, specifically in Game 5 of this series in Philadelphia.