Brett Brown Wants More Three-Pointers From Ben Simmons

PHILADELPHIA, PA -- It happened again! Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons launched another real three-point shot on Saturday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers and drained it. As expected, the crowd at the Wells Fargo Center went crazy.

After going through two seasons without a long-range shot in his arsenal, Ben Simmons looked to improve that aspect of his game in year three. We've seen the videos during the offseason of Simmons unleashing his newfound shot on social media, but it was unclear if he was actually going to put all of that together in a real NBA game.

Everybody wanted to see Simmons finally take that shot and make it. Well, they got their prayers answered last month in a matchup with the New York Knicks. Many hoped that was the start of something fresh with Simmons' game, but he wouldn't attempt the long-range shot again anytime soon.

Simmons went on another three-point drought until December 7th, in a matchup at home with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Considering Joel Embiid and Josh Richardson were out of the lineup, Simmons knew he had to step up on the offensive side of the ball.

Not only did he step up and drain a career-high of 34 points on Saturday, but Simmons also broke out the three-point shot once again. And on his second attempt of the season, Simmons cashed out -- like his fellow teammate Mike Scott would say.

Considering it took so long for Simmons to attempt the shot that's so foreign to him once again, nobody should hold their breath waiting for the next one. However, if Sixers' head coach Brett Brown can get it through to Simmons' head, he would like to see the All-Star point guard attempt at least one of those shots a game.

"You can pass this along to his agent, family, friends, and to him," Brown said following the game on Saturday. "I want a three-point shot a game -- minimum. The pull-up twos -- I'm fine with whatever is open. But I'm interested in the three-point shot."

While Brown emphasized the desire to want Simmons to launch three-pointer's more often, he surely didn't want to seem dramatic about it. At this point, Brown just sees a point guard who is excellent in some areas but is ready to expand his game.

Simmons understands that everybody, including Brown, wants to see him shoot it more -- but it still seems like the young guard is just easing his way into things. "I'm getting more comfortable learning my spots and adjusting," Simmons said after the game.

"I just try not to force [the three-point shot]. I just try to play the game the way I know how to play without overthinking or listening to anybody else. With time, I'm getting better."

Though Brown does set a quota for Simmons' three-point shot, he won't apply any pressure on Simmons to reach it on a game-by-game basis. "I, too, don't want to over-dramatize this thing," he says. But Brown makes a valid point -- when Simmons does make his three-ball a routine thing, "he will be liberated, and his world will open up."