Philadelphia 76ers All-Star forward Ben Simmons wasn't happy with his team following their 137-106 blowout loss to the Heat in Miami on Monday night, as he called the Sixers "soft" after the game. The loss was Philadelphia's worst of the season, and their third in a row. Since their Christmas Day victory over the Bucks, they've gone 8-10, and they have an overall road record of just 9-18. With 31 games remaining in the campaign, the Sixers sit at sixth in the East; a full 12 games behind the top-seeded Bucks -- not where most expected them to be prior to the season's start. 

"We were soft," Simmons of the Sixers after the loss to the Heat. "The physicality side of things, we gotta step that up. That comes with experience, also just comes with personality. Don't get bullied. Fight over screens, get through screens. If you gotta knock somebody over, knock 'em over. If you gotta hit somebody in the face and knock 'em down so they don't score, hit 'em in the face." 

Reserve forward Mike Scott agreed with Simmons' assessment. 

"Played soft tonight, yep," Scott said.  "[We have to] not be soft."

The second half, in particular, was an issue for Philadelphia on Monday night. The Heat were up just four points at halftime, but thanks to some porous defense on the Sixers part, Miami was able to blow the game open in the third quarter and they never looked back. They scored 81 second half points, while Philadelphia posted its worst defensive efficiency (148.9) in a game in the past 20 seasons, per ESPN. Simmons felt like the Sixers were just going through the motions over the final 24 minutes of the contest. 

"I think we were too robotic," Simmons said. "We were just playing to play. We weren't taking shots that were open, turning down a lot of things that we saw out there. … I don't know what it was individually, but I just felt it was more focused on what we were running instead of just playing."  

These comments from Simmons sound somewhat similar to remarks made by Josh Richardson late last year when he questioned the team's internal accountability. 

"I don't think that there's enough accountability in our locker room right now, honestly," Richardson said in late December. "I think that we got some new guys, who don't want to step on toes, including myself. I feel like we kind of go play, and don't compete as much. There's been games that we have and it's been great. But when it's not going good, we got to hold each other accountable. I think that's where a lot of our problems start."  

An adjustment period was to be expected for the Sixers after the changes that they made over the summer, but it's not a good sign that such major issues still exist in February. Simmons is right, the Sixers were soft on Monday night, as they were completely outplayed and out-hustled by Jimmy Butler (who had a season-high 38 points) and a Heat team that looked like they had something to prove. Every team is entitled to an off night, but the problem is that there have been way too many such nights for the Sixers this season. The fact that this recent losing streak occurred directly before Thursday's trade deadline adds an extra layer of intrigue. Considering their lofty preseason expectations, and their current standing in the East's hierarchy, it will be interesting to see what moves -- if any-- general manager Elton Brand makes to boost Philadelphia's title chances.