Is it time to start worrying about Ben Simmons?
The Australian rounded out the scoring in the Nets’ loss to Boston this week, Brooklyn’s first game without the injured Kevin Durant, with nine rebounds, 13 assists, a block and two steals.
He also helped hold Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum to just 20 points as the Nets outscored Boston by 10 points while Simmons was on the floor.
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Saturday, January 14
Saturday January 14
The question? Simmons was held scoreless on 0-for-3 shooting.
Overall, Simmons is still impacting games in atypical ways in a variety of ways, and most of all, he’s still one of the best defenders in the NBA. But his offensive game has completely dried up, averaging 7.5 points per game, less than half of his career scoring average of 15.1.
According to The New York Post, Simmons is averaging just 3.3 points this season, well below his four healthy years in Philadelphia, where he averaged 10.2, 11.9, 9.9 and 15. 5.
Simmons’ offensive game has dried up (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Simmons has also made just one free throw since Nov. 25, shooting 1-for-13 at the line during that span, while shooting a career-worst 41.3% from the charity stripe on the season.
Speaking to The Lowe Post, ESPN’s Zach Lowe said a free throw from Simmons has made it “look like a problem” and a “big deal” for the better part of two months.
And watching him against Boston, Lowe thinks Simmons doesn’t seem to want to play a big role on the offensive end.
“We talked the other day about how teams are starting to guard Scottie Barnes the same way (as Simmons). Toronto has responded by using him as a screener and he’s really doing well, because he’s shooting 76 percent on free throws ; he’s not afraid to get fouled,” Lowe said.
“Simmons is a great transition passer; part of the reason he’s such a great transition passer is that he wants to get rid of the ball at the first semi-opportune moment at all times.
“(After going through it) You don’t participate in the work again. If he screens and the Celtics switch to Prayton Pritchard or Derrick White or someone who could dominate him, he just walks away to the side of the court, not even trying to post.
“Look, he’s still a decent player. One of the scouts who was there last night said, “He’s really sliding his feet on defense, looks like he’s Ben Simmons again.”
“I’m like, ‘He averages (7.5) points a game, when was it okay for Ben Simmons to average seven points a game?’
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It comes after Simmons shook off a rusty start to the season to regain some of his best form in late November — scoring in double figures in six straight games, including two 20-plus performances.
But after missing time with a knee setback, the 26-year-old has struggled to get back on track even as Brooklyn climbed into the top two in the Eastern Conference.
While Simmons’ expectations were lowered after he sat out all of last campaign and then had offseason back surgery, he’s now adjusting to life on a new team along with two of the league’s best superstars in Durant and Kyrie Irving, not many could have predicted. his offensive game would drop to such a degree.
“There was a Simmons renaissance … now we’re sort of in the ‘I have no confidence in my offense’ stage of the Ben Simmons experience here,” said Bill Simmons of The Ringer.
“It’s in Ben Wallace territory is where it’s headed. Ben Wallace, in the mid-2000s, ‘please don’t involve me in the crime in any way.’
“If you don’t go to the basket and you can’t shoot, I’m not sure what’s left.
“At least in Philly he used to drive to the basket … and then there were times when he would feel it, when he was doing little pulls and stuff. Now he doesn’t drive to the basket.”
Simmons walks away from Tatum (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
While one could argue that the Nets don’t necessarily need a huge offensive output from Simmons with the star power of Durant and Irving on that end of the court, Durant’s absence suddenly leaves a huge void.
Not that anyone or anything can replace Durant, the Nets have one of the NBA’s deepest rosters with talent and three-point shooters who, collectively, can help make up for it somewhat.
But on the people side, the player with the most responsibility to step up is Simmons, acquired in the James Harden trade to be the team’s third star with an average salary of $35 million.
While no one expects Simmons to effectively replace Durant’s elite scoring, the Nets need him to drive more, if only to create for others.
He even admitted it after his second scoreless game of the season against Boston.
“I wouldn’t call it pressure, I’d just say it’s something I have to do to help this team,” Simmons said, per The New York Post, acknowledging that the Durant-less roster means he has to give up less ball and attack the rim more.
“Playing with a lot of guys that can catch and shoot, so you just know who I’m playing and what tempo we have to play at. (That’s) being assertive, being aggressive, knowing that my teammates (need me). I think I’m giving the ball away too many times when I know who I am. I know I need to reach the edge and grab buckets. And that will also help my teammates and help them.”
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Irving said of Simmons, “He’s just got to be himself. We’re not going to put too much pressure on him. When he gets his opportunities, we just want him to be aggressive.”
If Simmons can’t step up, the Nets could suddenly find themselves vulnerable at the top of the East amid a gridlock of contenders fighting for the top seed and better home-court advantage in the playoffs.
The reality is that much of the driving force behind Brooklyn’s rise has been Durant, and no one knows how Jacque Vaughn’s team will fare without him in the coming weeks.
“When KD comes back, who knows when that will happen, but they’re in a dangerous position right now,” added Bill Simmons.
“You know my feelings about Kyrie as a superstar and a galvanizing force — it’s just not going to happen. He’s got to be the partner, he’s not going to be your leader.
“We’re in this dangerous spot now with the East, because I think Cleveland and Milwaukee are going to be top four teams. Whoever else is in the top four — you’re looking at Brooklyn and Philly and maybe even Miami if they get together.
“I just don’t want them to have Game 7s on the road every round. A team like Brooklyn won’t be able to survive that.”