NBA coach shares Hack-a-Ben origin story
At this point, everyone is aware of Ben Simmons‘ problems at the free-throw line as a former Philadelphia 76ers standout. In the 2021 playoffs, he averaged 6.2 attempts per game at the foul line and shot 34.2%, which finally caused the end of his career in Philadelphia. While Simmons is now a member of the Brooklyn Nets, the situation is not much better. In his first full season with the Nets, he is shooting 43.9% from the line, which is a glaring flaw in his play.
Bradley Beal, a guard for the Washington Wizards, thoroughly enjoyed the competition and pageantry of attending his first Finals game, but he was also emotionally crushed by the fact that, despite playing for the Washington Wizards for ten seasons, he has never even come close to playing in a Finals game.
Beal told Andscape, “I was sitting with my wife and I was basically just saying [Tatum], ‘No, guard him, guard him,’ like I’m on the team. “Dude, I need to relax. But, the atmosphere alone makes you want to participate as a competitor. I want to shoot hoops here. There was nothing like it before. If I had attended more than one game, I would have gone crazy.
Beal, an NBA All-Star three times over, averaged 22.1 points per contest throughout the course of his career. The 29-year-old is in the prime of his NBA career right now, scoring 23.1 points per game on average this year. The franchise has made the playoffs five times since being picked by Washington with the third overall choice in the 2012 NBA Draft, but it has never made it to the conference finals. Since 1979, when the then-Washington Bullets fell to the Seattle SuperSonics in the NBA Finals, Washington hasn’t advanced to the conference finals.
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