Jimmy Butler and Ben Simmons Disagree Over Whether the 76ers Are ‘Soft’

What happened to the brotherhood? 

Ben Simmons and Jimmy Butler had opposing reactions to the Philadelphia 76ers‘ 123-121 loss to the lowly Atlanta Hawks on Friday.

“I think we were just too soft. I just don’t think we’re physical enough. I think defensively, we’re not taking it personal enough when guys score on us,” Simmons told reporters after the game. “It should be a pride thing when somebody scores; you should be frustrated every time.”

Butler didn’t take kindly to Simmons’ portrait of the team.

“I don’t like the word ‘soft.’ I just don’t think that we did what we were supposed to do,” Butler said. “I’m not gonna say that anybody’s soft. I just think that we got beat in every aspect of the game. They came out from the jump and did what they wanted to do, and they did that for 48 straight minutes.”

That last bit seems to hint at the reported tension between Butler and coach Brett Brown. Butler challenged Brown’s schemes recently during a team meeting and the reference to the team running over them from the beginning of the game nods toward game plan issues. 

Brown, for his part, knows that Philly’s defense is a problem.

“It is so disappointing. It is so disappointing,” he said of the defense. You know, we have to own it, I have to own it, and we have to find a way to generate more of a commitment on that end.”