Philadelphia 76ers have plan to address Ben Simmons' shooting woes, Doc Rivers says - ESPN

But not 24 hours after his team's season was over, 76ers coach Doc Rivers said Monday that he believes this summer will be different for Simmons?

Because, according to Rivers, not only is Simmons willing to do the work but the Sixers have a plan to address his shooting woes that will involve doing "the right work" and doing it "the right way.".

"I believe, without going into detail with what we're doing, I believe we know what the right work is, and the right type of work, and the right way to do it," Rivers said when asked why this offseason will be different as far as Simmons' shooting goes.

But if it's not done in the right way and the right type of work, you may not improve.

And while that has often revolved around Simmons being an unwilling 3-point shooter, in these playoffs Simmons went from being a 60% foul shooter in the regular season, the territory he has been in for each of his four NBA seasons, to 34.2% in the postseason.

"I ain't shoot well from the line this series," Simmons said after the Game 7 loss Sunday night.

Rivers said that the team has to make Simmons a more confident foul shooter -- and that if that can happen, everything else will fall into place.

"We're not hiding that Ben has to become a better free throw shooter and a more confident free throw shooter," Rivers said.

Monday, Rivers tried to backtrack a bit, repeatedly saying he believes in Simmons and has confidence he can make the necessary improvements to help the Sixers shake off the devastating disappointment that was losing this series after finishing the regular season with the best record in the Eastern Conference.