Nets must figure out how to play well when Ben Simmons sits
Nets guard Ben Simmons, second from left, looks on from the bench in the first half of an NBA game against the Timberwolves at Barclays Center on Jan. 25. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
BOSTON — Like most players, Ben Simmons was already looking forward to how he’ll spend his All-Star break. Some sun and rest but also strengthening his body.
“A little bit of both,” Simmons said after the Nets lost to the Celtics Tuesday. “Just trying to get my body right, stay on top of it and then come back, push to the end of the season.”
Simmons, who had five points and eight assists Tuesday, was out for Wednesday’s game against the Celtics due to a left knee effusion, or fluid accumulation. The absence was expected since he’s yet to play in a back-to-back this season.
The six games he’s played since returning from a back injury match the six he played prior to suffering the nerve impingement on Nov. 6. Outside of a knee injury after his return, he had no setbacks, averaging 7.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.3 assists. His 24 minutes Tuesday were the most he’s played since coming back.
Yet the fact he’s out for the Nets’ last game before the break is a reminder of one of their key issues. They’re a different team with and without him and they haven’t found a consistent medium to be the uptempo, high-volume shooting team coach Jacque Vaughn wants.
Since Simmons came back on Jan. 29, the Nets have looked fluid and faster with him, but disjointed and slower without him. They’ve outscored teams by 9.5 points per 100 possessions when he’s on the court. When he’s off the court? They’ve been outscored by 4.4 points.
His presence also impacts the defensive end. The Nets’ defensive rating with him on the court is 106.7, but over 15 points worse (122.1) with him off it.
“That’s just a part of our world,” Vaughn said earlier this month. “For me, it is on me to get our group to adapt, whether that is different lineups and different substitution patterns when he’s in and when he’s out. And then the ability for our group to try to play the same semblance of basketball when he’s in or out.”
It’s unclear if Simmons will eventually play both ends of back-to-backs the rest of the season. But either way, the Nets must figure out how to fill in the gaps Simmons leaves behind.
Adding Dennis Schroder has partially helped. Schroder’s second game was quieter than his Nets debut — nine points and three assists Tuesday compared to his 15-point, 12-assist introduction Saturday. But he’s been able to get in the paint and find shooters in a similar fashion to Simmons.
At 6-1, Schroder’s much smaller than Simmons or Spencer Dinwiddie, who Schroder was traded for. It’s easier for teams to neutralize smaller guards, outside of elite ones like Stephen Curry or Jalen Brunson.
But the Nets don’t need Schroder to be Simmons. They need him to be more effective than Dinwiddie in case Simmons misses more games post- All-Star break.
The Nets can’t replace the pace Simmons brings, but Schroder showed Saturday he can get out in transition. As Vaughn and Mikal Bridges have noted, they need players to step up and knock down shots even without Simmons’ ability to generate easy shots.
“We still want to shoot threes. We still want to play with pace,” Vaughn said. “But there’s other opportunities for plays to be made also.”
Simmons has been a great asset when healthy, but injuries have made him more of a bonus than a player the team can depend on for long stretches. With the All-Star break approaching, there’s hope he’ll stay healthy but a greater need for the Nets to find and maintain their identity without him.
Evan Barnes covers the Nets for Newsday. He previously covered Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
