Sixers' Doc Rivers Believes Ben Simmons' Scoring Criticism is Shameful

Sixers head coach Doc Rivers can't believe Ben Simmons is receiving criticism following a strong Game 1 performance against the Wizards.

Doc Rivers has made it clear on many occasions this season that he isn't worried about Ben Simmons' lack of scoring at times. Since the Philadelphia 76ers guard prides himself on being a playmaker, who tends to think about passing before shooting, Rivers loves the way the Sixers guard plays the game.

But the fans don't always tend to agree. Although Simmons collects assists at a high rate, his scoring remains under a microscope from those watching. As they'd like to see the Sixers' starting point guard put up points in a scorers league, Simmons finds himself buried in criticism following low-scoring games.

After Sunday afternoon's Game 1 matchup against the Washington Wizards was a perfect example. Although the Sixers came out of Sunday's matchup with a victory, many still sounded off about the fact that Simmons had just six points on nine shots.

Rivers immediately shot down the notion that Simmons had a bad game because of his lack of scoring. "I thought he was special tonight," Rivers said on Sunday. "Whoever he guarded struggled scoring. He created so many points for us tonight. He is a treasure. He is something that you don't see a lot of in this league. He has a skill set that is so different. All I see is greatness in him."

Although Rivers defended his starting guard, fans and critics continued to debate whether Simmons had a good first game or not. Two days later, Rivers once again couldn't believe anybody thought that Simmons' 15-assist and 15-rebound outing was a lousy one because he scored only six points in the end. 

"If you guys don't know the treasure you have by now then shame on everyone," Rivers said on Tuesday. "He's been fantastic for us. He creates points every single night for us. When Ben was on the floor, we were really good. I'm amazed that people don't see what he does. We're so caught up in the amount of points he scored. Like, if Ben had all 125 points, would we be mad if Joel (Embiid) didn't score? Who cares who scores, as long as we're scoring. When Ben plays, we score more points."

Rivers has made it clear countless times this season -- he's worried about winning games. Simmons' jump shot, and scoring, in general, doesn't concern the veteran head coach. As Simmons contributes to winning in several areas, that's all Rivers is worried about and he doesn't seem to be changing his mindset anytime soon.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_ & Instagram: @JGrassoNBA.