The Philadelphia 76ers have won four of their last five games, the most recent pair coming against the Boston Celtics team that swept them out of the playoffs last season. At 11-5, they are atop the Eastern Conference. Good times, right?

Well, not all good times:

Man, he was so close, wasn’t he? If that quote ends with “so I don’t see what people are saying,” he’s home safe. Simmons doesn’t owe it to anyone to monitor his social media feeds for praise, criticism or anything else. His focus rightly should be on winning and how he can help his team. And he is helping his team! Simmons was perhaps the Sixers’ best player in the fourth quarter last night:

These weren’t cheap or easy points, either. The most notable play came when he jumped a passing lane, swiped the ball near midcourt and dunked at the other end:

That play illustrated why Simmons is so special. It’s nearly impossible to account for his length and his court awareness at the defensive end. He was an All-Defensive First Team choice after the shortened bubble season, on merit. And when he does steal the ball, his ballhandling and his ability to cover open court in a few strides make him a menace.

Sixers’ center Joel Embiid is posting MVP-caliber numbers this season, and last night he credited Simmons for his dominant fourth quarter.

“I love playing with him,” Embiid said. “That fourth quarter starts on the defensive end, and he was a monster. He got a lot of steals, and then in the half court off the pick and roll he was attacking, he was aggressive and he made plays, he scored a couple baskets. He was huge tonight.”

Embiid clearly understands that, if the Sixers are serious about contending for a championship, Simmons needs to be at or near his best.

Simmons’ choice to dismiss “what people are saying” so aggressively may have roots in the trade rumors that involved James Harden coming to Philadelphia, and Simmons leaving:

Was there some part of Simmons that wanted the trade to happen? Had he made peace with his time in Philadelphia ending? We will probably never know that. What we do know is that it’s not even a week later, and Harden’s new team is coming off two straight losses to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

As long as Simmons is here, Sixers fans will want to see his best. The frustration at his inability to develop a three-point shot or a mid-range game is not spiteful. It’s wishful. Anyone can see that Simmons would be completely unstoppable if he could score consistently from outside five feet from the basket.

That doesn’t matter right now. As he is – spectacular strengths, glaring weaknesses and all – Simmons is one of the Sixers’ most important contributors.

Hopefully, then, the next time Simmons chooses to comment on what content he consumes (or doesn’t), he’ll just leave it at “I don’t see what people are saying.”

Because he may not GAF about what “people” say, but those people very definitely GAF about what Simmons says.