Sometime soon – perhaps during this playoff series, if he has a moment to spare before the Celtics finish off the 76ers, or perhaps once the offseason begins – Brett Brown has to invite Ben Simmons into his office, close the door and sit down for a heart-to-heart talk about the basics of basketball.
Simmons possesses some of the greatest gifts of any Sixers player in any era, speed and vision and a willingness to pass that permeates throughout the entire Sixers team, with so much potential yet untapped. But he is still just 21, far from a perfect player, far from a finished product, and this series against the Celtics and Saturday’s 101-98 loss in Game 3 have been loaded with Icarus moments for him, with too many bad decisions born of recklessness and overconfidence.