Sixers' Doc Rivers Explains What he Wants From Ben Simmons After Win vs. Thunder

Sixers head coach Doc Rivers wants Ben Simmons to remain aggressive. His version of aggressive is a lot different compared to everybody else's, though.

Philadelphia 76ers All-Star Ben Simmons has been in a bit of a scoring slump as of late. Although he's not known to average over 20 points per game, Simmons has proven that he's able to score at will when he flips a switch and attacks the net aggressively.

But Simmons has made it clear he's not a score-first guard. Instead, he strives to be a playmaker who would rather get his shooters involved more often than not. Sometimes, Simmons's eagerness to pass up points of his own to get the ball to somebody else frustrates those who watch him play.

However, his head coach doesn't sweat it much -- if at all. Sixers head coach Doc Rivers has thrown cold water on the hot topic of Simmons shooting threes on several occasions. Now, Rivers is making it clear that he wants Simmons to play aggressively, but his version of aggressive might not be equivalent to everybody else's definition.

“I want him to be aggressive, but I think you think of aggressiveness as him aggressive scoring,” Rivers said on Saturday night. “I think him aggressive is (Ben) getting into the paint and creating plays. He can have an aggressive game for me where he doesn’t shoot a lot, but he was aggressive, and he used his speed. That’s what we want.”

Some things might never change in Philly. When Brett Brown was the head coach of the 76ers, he didn't ask for Simmons to focus on scoring more. When he tried to urge the young guard to shoot more threes, it apparently didn't go over well behind the scenes.

Many believed Rivers could be the coach who could unleash another part of Simmons' game, but it's become clear that he isn't too focused on doing that. Rivers knows that Simmons' strengths are making plays and getting open shots for the guys around him, and the Sixers' head coach doesn't intend to urge Simmons to change his style anytime soon.

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