Stephen A. Smith believes 76ers matchup could be Simmons turning point
Brooklyn’s Ben Simmons had the best night of the season on Sunday against the Grizzlies, and ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith believes that a return to Philadelphia could be an important turning point for Simmons.
On a segment of ESPN’s First Take, Smith discussed Philly’s possible reaction to Simmons’s return, “It’s going to be very, very, very bad. As a guy that worked in Philadelphia, for 17 and a half years, I know this fan base better than most people on the planet. They are waiting for this man and they are going to heckle him. They are going to spew a level of vitriol, unlike anything he has seen in his career.”
Smith continued, “But I will say this I’m very pleased with what I’ve seen from Ben Simmons the last two games. If Ben Simmons shows up and has a decent game in Philadelphia. I think that’s going to be the real turning point. Once he gets through that. If he gets through that by playing reasonably well. I think that he is going to be on a path that’s much better for him and I’m going to tell you this, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are going to look out for him. I was there last year after Harden got traded, and they played in Philly for the first time. They blew them out of the building. KD and Kyrie are gonna be ready to help out Ben Simmons, but if Ben Simmons shows up, and does his thing. I think that’s gonna go a long way towards his progress moving forward.”
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