(The original text was published on November 14. The author is CBS writer Colin Ward-Henninger. The content of the article does not represent the translator’s point of view.)

Sometimes, a reasonable explanation can reveal more than the fact itself.

In the seventh game of the Eastern semi-final 76ers vs Eagles in 2021, Ben Simmons-who also played for 76ers in Philadelphia at that time-gave up a dunk opportunity that seemed close at hand in a key offensive round in the fourth quarter, it left a notorious moment in the history of basketball. Instead, he passed the ball to Matisse-Sabre, who was fined one after two fouls. 76 people finally lost the game and were eliminated from the playoffs.

After the game, Simmons’s All-Star team friend enbade said indiscriminately that the turning point of the game was the problematic decision made by Simmons. Doug Rivers, the 76-person coach, hesitated when asked whether Simmons could serve as a point guard in a championship team, and made the headlines.

You all know what happened afterwards. Simmons never played for 76 people again.

After arriving in Brooklyn basketable nets, he finally talked about that moment on the former NBA defender Reddick’s podcasting program, explaining why he didn’t dunk.

“At that time, I turned around quickly and felt that Trey (Yang) would come to help defense more quickly.” Simmons said to reddick, “I think he is ready to jump over, then I saw matisse moving-you know, matisse is very athletic and can jump very high. So I thought, well, hurry up and pass the ball, he can be deducted. But I didn’t know how much space was around at that time.”

Watching the video playback, we can find that Simmons’s explanation is very reasonable. After turning around, he sensed the defenders and empty teammates in front of him, so he made a pass that he might have finished thousands of times in his life.

But from Simons’s original words, his attack analysis also revealed a key detail-a detail that often led to the failure of athletes under high pressure: he thought about it.

This seems a bit counterintuitive, but science has proved that thinking may be the most terrible enemy of athletes at those most tense critical moments. This conclusion is based on the research results of Dr. Sean Bellock. She is an award-winning cognitive scientist and the principal of Barnard College. She has published works such as extraordinary play and embodied cognition: how the body affects thinking and behavior. She also has a TED speech video on the Internet with the theme of abnormal performance under pressure, whose playback volume has been nearly 2.5 million times.

“If you don’t perform well when you are under pressure, it is because you are trying to figure out how to correct your behavior.” Belock told CBS, “My research shows that this will make you think too much-you begin to pay attention to everything you do and review your every move repeatedly. For a high-level athlete, this kind of self-review will cause greater interference to personal performance. So sometimes, an accident or some normal ups and downs will become a long-term problem. Because all of a sudden, you are trying your best to correct what you think is wrong.”

In a fast-paced sport like basketball, there are too many choices based on instinct. Simmons is 6 feet 10 inches (2.08 meters) tall, while Yang is only 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 meters) even wearing thick-soled sneakers. If other factors were excluded, it was hard to imagine Simmons going through such a complicated thinking process as he said at that time. He should have gone straight to the sky, scored that goal, and then never thought about it again.

But it was not without other factors at that moment. We should remember what caused such a moment. It was Simmons’s career free throw shooting rate as low as 60% so far. In the two rounds of playoffs in 2021, he received only 25% of the 73 penalty (the hit rate was 34%). We have seen some players attack “eopu” on the free throw line before-a not typical feature symbolizing poor performance, which makes sense according to belllock’s research. In basketball, you have enough time to think about free throws, and all eyes in the stadium are focused on you. If you lose a few more shots than usual, your brain will soon start to fight against you. This tendency of over correction will lead to a cruel cycle of failure.

Some people speculated that Simmons gave up the shot because the free throw hit rate was too low, because he was afraid of being fouled. Although Simmons himself did not admit it, the data obviously supported this assumption. In all seven series against the Eagles, Simmons only shot three times in the fourth quarter, and there was no shot in the fourth quarter of the last four games-for the second best player in a potential championship team, this is very noticeable.

When the series was coming to an end, the media and most NBA fans had already understood Simmons’s unwillingness to shoot. Even the die-hard fans in Philadelphia would make an audible sigh when he took the ball under the basket. This kind of attention from outside can usually make things worse.

“Even if you want to ignore it (the attention of the outside world), even if you don’t believe it exists, it will still make you worry about it and let you pay close attention to yourself, bring you higher-level pressure.” Berlok said to CBS, “If you know other people are looking at you, you will also want to see yourself more. This is a vicious circle.”

Due to mental health problems, Simmons refused to play for 76 people throughout the 2021-22 season, causing great controversy. Later, he joined basketable nets, underwent back surgery, and finally returned to the NBA in the past October after 16 months. You may think that with the previous vacation and the new environment in brooklyn, simmons can show his elegant demeanour in the 2019-20 season when he was selected as the best team in NBA.

Unfortunately, for Simmons and basketable nets, this has not yet become a reality.

This season, Simmons averaged nearly three or ten minutes per game, shot just over five times, scoring less than six points. He didn’t jump shot a long time ago, but now he seldom even shot outside the fair charge area. Obviously, since that decisive playoff series, he has become hesitant and unconfident in scoring.

The following figure shows an example. Switching attack was originally one of Simmons’s biggest weapons in his career. 6 feet 10 inches (2.08 meters), weighing 240 pounds (108.9 kilograms), he drove like a freight train, which was almost unstoppable. But please see what happened when he ran to Milwaukee’s defenders Lopez and brother Alphabet this season.

Indecisive. Flinch. Meek and taming.

As a comparison, the following is the attack termination method of simmons, who was selected as the NBA’s best team in the 2019-20 season under similar circumstances. The opponent is still the bucks team.

Brave and bold. Full of confidence. Powerful.

In the half-time attack, the trend became more obvious. According to Second Spectrum, Simmons broke through 11.9 games in the 2019-20 season-which was almost like ten years ago for his career. This season, he broke through less than three times. He often stayed near rim, or swam on the court, looking for opportunities to lay or dunk at close range-all his scores this season are basically of this type. He made less than two free throws per game; And in the first four seasons of his career, he had to go up to freethrow line or five times per game.

Even if Simmons was shot close to restricted area, we could see evidence of hesitation and unconfidence. Take a look at the picture below. His basket selection became air ball, which should have been an easy chance for him to score a few years ago.

Berlok once called together a group of people who claimed that they were not good at maths to detect their brains in real time while they were doing maths problems. At this time, the active parts of the subject’s brain are exactly those related to pain response. In other words, they expect that they will fail even before they start to do the exercises, so how can they succeed?

“Our research shows that when you are in this negative mood, even if you just start to do something (instead of finding signs of failure halfway), your performance may have also been affected.” Belock told CBS, “so you can imagine that when Simmons or other athletes began to worry about their performance, it was as if they had already carried negative emotions before the competition, this will further worsen their mentality.”

One thing is clear, that is, Simmons is now suffering some kind of obstacle-mental, physical, or combination of the two (the most likely)-so the question is how to get out of it. Belock’s research shows that for a tense situation, the best way to prepare is to stimulate one’s state through practice or rehearsal. If you are about to take a big exam, take a mock exam in advance at the same time period of the exam. To give a speech to a large group of people? Then make some noise manually in the room and speak to the lens or mirror at the same time.

Of course, it is almost impossible to copy the NBA playoff atmosphere where tens of thousands of fans scream loudly and go crazy for your every mistake. But berlok said that human beings are very capable of learning by analogy. In training, any way that can increase pressure in practice-such as introducing noise from the crowd, or preset some punishment for your poor performance-all help to train you to keep your brain calm and mental concentration when you are nervous.

Another skill is to remember that life is more important than work, even for professional athletes.

“I quite agree with the idea that habit can help one control one’s attention. For example, samma-sati training and meditation can help you get rid of negative thoughts.” Bellok said to CBS, “I also think we should do some efforts on the field to prepare you for the stage, whether by keeping a diary-we know how much it helps to release negative thoughts in the brain-or by focusing on other aspects of ourselves. So, besides basketball, what else makes these basketball players become excellent people? Even if it just reminds them of all kinds of different things in their lives-maybe families, maybe the business they just started to do, perhaps it is their excellence as friends and fathers-it will help them reduce the pressure on the court a little.”

It is easier to say than to take your attention away from basketball, especially when your name has become a synonym for failure. This is the case with Simmons in the NBA circle, but this is exactly where public facilities and external support should intervene. It’s hard to figure out what happened between Simmons and 76 people. But he claimed that he did not get enough mental health help from 76 people.

“My condition at that time was really terrible, damn it. I want to come back here, and you are all throwing all kinds of things at me, but it just doesn’t help.” Simmons said on The Old Man and the Three, a podcasting program in Reddick, “help, that’s all I want.”

Players such as loafers and drozan have made great contributions to pushing mental health into the spotlight of sports, but it is still a shame for athletes to talk about it (mental health). Seeking help may be regarded as a weak performance, which is why it is very important to have an employee in the team who can understand the psychological state of the players.

“How to think about this depends on the team, the league and the major institutions.” Belock said to CBS, “If each team spends millions of dollars on the physical health of the players, but does not pay any attention to the mental health of the players, I think they just ignore some important things. Because if you are in a bad state of mind, it will be difficult for you to play the ball well or play your highest level.”

Although Simmons now seems unable to return to his former appearance, the road to redemption certainly exists. The Los Angeles Lakers guard Wei Shao was once considered hopeless by some data analysts and fans, but after being put on the bench, he also played reliably and efficiently. Simmons also played several games as a substitute after returning from knee pain, so maybe he will feel less pressure and more freedom.

No matter what happens, we should not laugh at what Simmons has experienced. For most of us, overthinking and anxiety are all part of our daily life. We may also be overwhelmed in the fight against panic, causing frustration. Now, please close your eyes and imagine such a scene: you are trying to restore your original self; But your every move is recorded and analyzed, then it was watched by millions of fans around the world over and over again.

“This is not just a problem that basketball players have to face. All young people are in a mental health crisis to some extent, and due to the lack of control and control of the new Crown epidemic, the crisis is still worsening.” Belock said to CBS, “I think an organization, whether it is a basketball team, a company or an educational institution, should pay close attention to the overall state of a person. We can no longer focus on one’s ability to work. We have to consider what kind of individuals they are, pay attention to all aspects of them, and think about how to support them.”

“Because the truth is this: if you want the players to perform best on the court, you have to fully assist them on the court.”

Original: Colin Ward-Henninger

Compilation: asteroid falling

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