Five years ago, you could have made the argument that Ben Simmons was the next big thing in the NBA.
Simmons, a 6 foot, 10 inch point guard, was in the midst of his first All-Star season (the first of three consecutive appearances) and averaged 16.9 points, 8.8, 7.7 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. The next season, he led the NBA in steals at 2.1 per contest.
With Joel Embiid, Simmons was due to be one half of the league's next star guard-big man combo.
Five years later, a falling out with Philadelphia 76ers' coach Doc Rivers, a missed season (2021-2022) due to injury, and just 42 games last season, and a missed opportunity to create something special alongside former Net teammates Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, Simmons is somewhat of a reclamation project on a young team that, unlike the one with Durant and Irving, does not have championship hopes. These Nets, with a budding star in forward Mikail Bridges, an uber confident bucket getter Cam Thomas, and other young talent that Simmons has the responsibility of getting involved in the game, are a group that is becoming fun to watch.
Monday night, Simmons provided a glimpse of what the potential can be if the team has Jim in the lineup.
Coming off the bench with 6:27 to go in the first quarter, Simmons, who hadn't played since Nov. 6 against the Milwaukee Bucks, checked in and made an immediate impact.
On his first possession, a bad inbounds pass by the Jazz was retrieved by Lonnie Walker, who gave to Simmons in transition. Simmons, dribbling to just inside the three-point arc, calmly delivered a left-handed pass on the wing to Royce O'Neale, who hit the three. On another Net possession shortly after, Simmons batted back a miss, and Thomas retrieved the ball and hit a triple. On three other plays in the quarter (all of which were consecutive) Simmons rebounded misses and found Bridges and Walker for consecutive three-pointers, and spotted O'Neale underneath with a pretty no look bounce pass from halfcourt. The three plays were key sequences of a 14-0 Net run in the first quarter that gave them a 36-20 lead with 2:09 remaining. In five minutes played in the opening quarter, Simmons had six assists and two rebounds.
In the second quarter, Simmons did a good job of rebounding the ball (he finished with eight in the game) and pushing the pace, looking for his teammates for open looks. In just minutes in the first half, Simmons had 2 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds and was a +18.
Also evident throughout his 18 total minutes in the game was Simmons' defensive ability, challenging shots at the rim and rebounding well on the defensive side. Overall, he finished with 10 points, 11 assists, and 8 rebounds, making all five of his field-goal attempts.
Since passing up a possible dunk in Game 7 of the 2021 Conference Semifinals against the Atlanta Hawks, Simmons hesitancy to shoot the ball has been criticized, especially with offseason training videos showing him hitting jump shots at a high clip. For his career, he has averaged 10.7 shots per game and, since being in Brooklyn, averaged 5.6 attempts per game last season and 5.9 this season.
Simmons seems too tall and too athletically gifted to refrain from shooting the ball or attacking the rim, but the positive thing on this Nets' team is that they do have gifted scorers, namely Bridges and Thomas, on the roster. This allows Simmons to play more a pure facilitator role, and hone in on the defensive side, where he has the capability of perennially being all-league (he was All-Defense First Team in 2020 and 2021).
Still just 27 (he will turn 28 in July), Simmons can be the engine that drives this Net team forward. There is no pressure on him to fit his game with other stars like there was in Philadelphia and in his first two seasons in Brooklyn. He can play loose and just be himself, which, when you do not have to deal with a lot of pressure, can ease a heavy burden.
The key, as always, is his health. The nerve issue
that Simmons has dealt with in his back is a difficult thing to manage, but if he can stay healthy, he could get back to the type of player we saw in his first couple seasons.
In limited action on Monday night, things got off to a promising start.
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