Ben Simmons takes blame for 76ers' second-round playoff exit

Ben Simmons blamed himself after the Philadelphia 76ers were bounced from the playoffs on Sunday with a 103-96 Game 7 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

The 24-year-old was horrible at the free-throw line throughout Philadelphia's second-round series as he struggled to score. 

"I ain't shoot well from the line this series," Simmons said, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "Offensively, I wasn't there. I didn't do enough for my teammates. ... There's a lot of things that I need to work on."

Simmons shot 15-for-45 on foul shots against Atlanta and 34.2% from the line for the entire 2021 playoffs, which is the worst free-throw percentage in NBA playoff history for a player with at least 70 attempts. 

The three-time All-Star was held to under 10 points in four out of the seven games against Atlanta, including his five-point showing on Sunday. 

76ers head coach Doc Rivers was asked postgame if Simmons can be the point guard on a championship team. He responded:

"I don't know that question or the answer to that right now," Rivers said. "So I don't know the answer to that."

The Sixers should be in for some significant changes this offseason, and the franchise will likely have to make a decision on whether or not to keep Simmons, who is owed $140.4 million over the next four seasons.

Marc Stein of The New York Times said Philadelphia "will obviously" explore the Simmons trade market this offseason, so things should get interesting.