Straight shooting: Nets focus on getting Ben Simmons up to speed
Ben Simmons #10 of the Nets reacts after being called for a technical foul during the first half of the game against the Nets at Fiserv Forum on October 26, 2022 in Milwaukee. Credit: Getty Images
In the third quarter of the Nets’ 110-99 loss to the Bucks in Milwaukee on Wednesday night, Kyrie Irving drove and passed to Ben Simmons just outside the paint. Simmons kicked the ball out to Kevin Durant, who hit a jumper.
Irving was seen yelling at Simmons, “Shoot it, Ben!” as the play unfolded.
Simmons shot it seven times in 34:28 of court time and made two. He finished with four points, nine assists and five rebounds as the Nets fell to 1-3 heading into the first back-to-back of the season at home Thursday night against Dallas.
Simmons expected to play in that back-to-back, which is a victory for the Nets. Simmons “tweaked” his troublesome back on Wednesday, but he was not listed on the pregame injury report.
“Definitely, I think each game I feel more comfortable,” Simmons said. “I think once I kind of got hit and tweaked my back a bit, I was a little more hesitant after that. But I definitely feel like in each game I'm progressing a bit with my physicality and aggressiveness.”
Irving, who scored 27 in the loss, acknowledged that he yelled at Simmons to shoot, and seemed to understand that that moment would probably be the most talked about one from Wednesday’s game from a Nets perspective.
“When I passed it to him I felt like he had a layup at the rim and I looked at him and I was like, ‘Shoot it, Ben,’ “ Irving said. “It's just a clip. It's a full game that we can look at and dissect. And that's what I'll do. This is a big-picture thing. We want Ben to be aggressive every single play. And we want him to get assists every single play. And we want him to rebound. And play against the best player. We want him to do all the things we think he's capable of, but at this time he's going to have to work himself into his own confidence and feel good about himself. And I'm not going to say I'm being patient or humble about it. But the reality is that we're just going to keep having to try this experiment every single night until we get the right recipe.”
Shooting has never been Simmons’ strong point. But Irving was asked how he and his teammates can get Simmons to take more shots.
“I just think if we are going to come in and be honest as a team, I’m not trying to be critical of what Ben’s done wrong and done right every night,” Irving said. “He’s a basketball player. He’s a professional. He has the skills to be a great professional. He’s done it in the past. He hasn’t played in two years and you guys keep coming in here and asking me, ‘What about Ben? What about Ben?’ It’s he hasn’t played in two years. Give him a [expletive] chance.
“We’re just here to give him positive affirmation while he’s out there and just let him hoop. While he’s hooping and getting back into it, we’re going to have to jell as a team in order to learn how to win as a group. It’s not an individual job to go out here and be superman. He doesn’t have to. There’s no such thing. It’s made up anyway. I like to say a phrase that my dad says: ‘A hero is nothing but a sandwich.’ I’m serious. Everyone wants to be a hero, but it’s a team game.”
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
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