Keith Pompey joins The Farzy Show with Marc Farzetta
“It was just bad and awful,” an infuriated Farzy starts off the show, as he tries to wrap his head around the Sixers stinging 103-96 Game 7 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. Marc is sorry “that everyone had to witness a debacle of a Game 7,” in which the number one seeded home team was unable to close out the game against the Atlanta Hawks. After waiting and waiting, nobody was able to step up. Above all, Ben Simmons’ horrendous series was what stood out most to Farzy with Simmons having the worst free throw percentage in NBA playoff history.
For Marc, the turning point was when Simmons turned down a dunk, opting for a pass to Thybulle who went on to split his free throws. That was followed by “a Capella dunk, a Young three, and that was the game,” says a disappointed Farzy. Even Joel Embiid struggled to find words to explain his teammates’ decision.
Farzy still can’t believe what he saw last night. “Ben Simmons was a nonfactor offensively speaking. It Is unforgivable. This is not something he can right during the regular season, it is something he has to right in the postseason,” before adding “with the playoffs he has had, I don’t see how one can defend Simmons anymore.”
Marc welcomes in Sixers beat writer Keith Pompey, from the Inquirer.com who discusses where things fell apart for the Sixers, agreeing with Farzy that “Simmons not taking the dunk took the life out of the building.” Marc asks where the Sixers go from here, to which Pompey says that the answer is not so straight forward. Who do you trade him for? “This is a time for Simmons to look himself in the mirror and decide to see what he wants to do. His trade value has dropped so the Sixers will have to be strategic,” Pompey says. The question they discuss is Ben Simmons’ trade value and if he should stay or go.
What irritates Farzy is when Simmons says “This is who I am and it is what it is,” with no willingness to improve. Pompey has grown accustomed to Simmons’ personality stating simply “This is who the guy is,” Did the Sixers lose this series or did the Hawks win it?” Farzy asks Keith. For him there was no debate, “The Sixers lost,” is Pompey’s response.
They then move into the Doc Rivers debate and his role in this second round shock exit. Keith blames the Sixers’ lack of depth on the bench and wonders what they can do moving forward about winning now. He also warns about the Brooklyn Nets who will be back next year and says clearly “the Sixers got to do it now!” Farzy then breaks down Ben Simmons’ insufficient work ethic wishing to see the same mentality as Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant.
In our Social Media check-in, brought to you by Steak and Main, Farzy highlights fans’ discontent with Ben Simmons with one likening him to “hot garbage.” Marc talks about the ecstatic atmosphere for the first three and a half quarters before everything turned sour in South Philadelphia. The poll of the day was: How are you handling the loss of the Sixers? Who do you have the most hope for this season?
During the Morning Rush segment, brought to you by Sky Motor Cars, the Phillies stole one out of three games against the San Francisco Giants with Farzy praising the fantastic broadcast on Peacock. He talks about Doc Rivers who went from saying Ben Simmons is a treasure to “I don’t have an answer to that question,” when reporters asked him about whether Ben Simmons could be the starting point guard. Farzy says that “Simmons just looked terrified and you just don’t want that out of your starting point guard.”
In the Big Bets segment, brought to you by DraftKings, Farzy was unable to cover with the Sixers losing and only hit on Embiid making more than one three. Ultimately, Marc says he made a mistake by voting with his heart rather than his head. He feels like the Sixers blew a huge opportunity with a wide open path to the Conference Finals. It was not an easy show to watch but, hopefully the Sixers will be back in the not so distant future. Will Ben Simmons be part of that future? That is the question on everyone’s mind.
