NBA fans were hit with a massive blow this week when Philadelphia superstar Ben Simmons injured his knee playing against the Washington Wizards. In a recent statement, the 76ers confirmed that Simmons will be leaving the NBA bubble for surgery "in the coming days to remove a loose body in his left knee." 

The expectations were high for both Simmons and Philadelphia heading into the bubble. The team had decided to move Simmons to power forward to hopefully improve his chemistry with Joel Embiid. Sadly, we will most likely have to wait for next season to see if the move works. 

David Patrick, a longtime friend of Simmons and his coach at LSU, recently joined The Alley-Oop Show and shared his thoughts on the 24-year-old's best position and his shooting struggles.

“I thought his success at LSU and college was when he was the four.” Patrick explained, “I think in the NBA, when he is at the point for 48 mins, people get under him, they wear him out and he gives up the ball and he has to go get it back. Whereas, when he is at the four spot he has got a slower defender closing out on him, he can catch it at the elbow and make a move.”‍

Patrick also believes that playing at point guard makes people forget how talented Simmons is at rebounding. “He is a high-level rebounder and sometimes that gets pushed to the side when he is at the point.”

According to Patrick, Simmons can hit the three point shot but the challenges he faces are more mental, “If you watch him work out he will go 9-10 from three. It is very rare he is going under 6 or 7. But some of that is the mental habit, you gotta miss 10 in a row and still shoot the 11th and 12th.”

‍Patrick hinted that the challenges of social media and the scrutiny NBA players are under plays a significant role. “These new age kids they read twitter they read instagram - so how does that play into your thought process if i miss this shot? Because every shot he misses it is all over twitter and every shot he makes is like a highlight.”‍

During the interview, Patrick also discussed his new coaching role at Arkansas, the pathway to the NBA from college and being part of the Australian coaching team.

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