As anticipated, it wasn’t fairly.
Ben Simmons performed his first sport in 470 days and he performed it alongside new teammates in a contemporary offense the Nets’ teaching employees just lately put in.
“That’s the one thing I thought I would be nervous but I wasn’t nervous,” Simmons mentioned on whether or not or not he had nerves in his first sport again. “I was excited. To have that feeling to be able to come out and know you are going to play on a NBA floor especially at Barclays with some great players. It’s excitement. Really didn’t have any nerves.”
The end result was predictable: to start out their first of 4 preseason video games, the Nets appeared rusty and at instances discombobulated, digging a gap as deep as 20 towards a Philadelphia 76ers crew resting 4 key gamers — Joel Embiid, James Harden, P.J. Tucker and Danuel House — on Monday.
And then Brooklyn’s pictures began falling, passes reached their targets, the protection picked up and the rating mirrored that of a crew looking for itself earlier than the video games start to depend.
The Nets undoubtedly have a number of work to do in the event that they’re going to succeed in the NBA Finals stage that’s eluded them every of the previous two seasons, however for stretches of their 127–108 loss over a shorthanded 76ers crew, they appeared promising — most promising of all being the movement of what was as soon as a stagnant Nets offense.
“Many of these guys haven’t played together, so we’ve gotta go through this,” head coach Steve Nash mentioned. “It’s gonna be ugly at times, but as the half wore on, you know, we started to see glimpses of the potential, the way the ball moved, the way they were hounding the basketball defensively. So I thought Ben looked pretty good overall and was growing into the game throughout the half.”
Simmons began alongside Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving towards his former crew and assumed the purpose guard-facilitator function with Irving deferring to him to run the offense from tip. Each member of the new-look Brooklyn Big Three tallied 19 first-half minutes earlier than sitting all the second half of their preseason opener.
Simmons logged six factors, 5 assists and 4 rebounds, hugging former teammates Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey earlier than the opening tip. Kevin Durant scored 13 factors on four-of-eight capturing, and Irving scored 9 factors on the identical capturing numbers.
With Simmons working the purpose, the ball “hopped,” as Irving described of the new-feel offense just a few days into coaching camp.
The Nets ran an excellent chunk of Spain pick-and-roll — that’s when somebody screens for the screener to get a cleaner roll to the rim and to pressure the protection to assist off of a nook shooter — and after being absent nearly all of final season, the set seems to be a staple of the newly-installed offense.
After shaking off the rust, nook shooters minimize backdoor with some success they usually flared from the corners to provide movement to the offense.
“There’s nothing like watching a basketball game when everybody’s moving with pace and everyone’s touching the ball,” Irving mentioned in regards to the new offense. “In comparison to last year, there was just a lot of random isolation, and having Ben be able to play the one, the four, and the five adds some dimensions to our offense, and I think that’s what makes us dangerous is that ability for us to be flexible, adaptable, and to be selfless.”
Simmons solely scored three baskets on six makes an attempt towards his former crew, all on dunks and layups. He tried to again down former teammate Georges Niang on the low block, however after shimmying and trying a turnaround fading leap shot, the ball was broad proper and hit all backboard.
The Nets, nonetheless, aren’t anticipating Simmons to hit leap pictures. They’re anticipating him to make performs for his teammates, to defend the opposing crew’s finest participant, to push the tempo in transition and to complete on the rim.
On a rusty evening after a season-long layoff, he nonetheless checked all 4 containers.
On one fastbreak possession, Simmons discovered beginning middle Nic Claxton with a behind-the-head, no-look dump-off for a simple dunk on the rim. In a halfcourt set, Simmons posted up on the left baseline then rifled a cross-court cross to the precise wing to seek out Royce O’Neale for a wide-open three. And on the ultimate possession of the primary half, Simmons reminded the Sixers why he made First Team All-Defense two consecutive seasons. He hounded Sixers guard Shake Milton and compelled a nasty cross that resulted in a missed and hurried Philadelphia shot try on the buzzer.
That form of effort would have been welcomed towards Jayson Tatum within the playoffs final season.
Simmons’ highlights had been sprinkled, nonetheless, throughout minutes of indecision, an apparent product of a brand new participant adjusting to a brand new offense with new teammates. Sometimes he over-dribbled, different instances he picked his dribble up too quickly and too distant from the three-point line. He turned the ball over two instances to his 5 assists and turnovers could possibly be a difficulty as a result of opponents will play the passing lanes understanding Simmons isn’t a score-first guard. The Sixers certain did.
Nash additionally confirmed off just a few lineups followers ought to count on to see get regular-season minutes.
Simmons began alongside Claxton, Durant, Harris and Irving, however he additionally performed a hybrid level guard-center function with Claxton on the bench and O’Neale on the ground. Nash’s first substitution was transferring Harris to the bench in favor of O’Neale, who developed a powerful status as a 3-and-D wing on the playoff contending Utah Jazz. O’Neale shot two-of-four from downtown for 11 factors and likewise assumed some ball-handling obligations when the offense broke down. Harris, in his first sport again after lacking most of final season following two ankle surgical procedures, shot two-of-seven from downtown and airballed two threes.
“Once we get our legs up under us [and] everybody finds out what exactly what they want to do out there, I think we’ll be in good shape,” mentioned Durant. “But for the most part, you know, it may take a couple of days, a couple of preseason games, a couple of weeks, who knows? But I think guys are moving in the right direction.”
What’s clear, a minimum of via one measly preseason sport, is that Nash lastly obtained his want: excluding TJ Warren (foot – might be re-evaluated in November) and Seth Curry (ankle – anticipated to play in remaining preseason sport), his crew is wholesome sufficient to start implementing advanced offensive units.
Simmons sits on the middle of the Nets’ potential to get artistic offensively and in his first sport as a Net, he flashed the versatile mix of measurement, talent and athleticism that can permit him to play each ball handler and screener within the Nets’ reinvented offense. This is the brand new period of Nets basketball, and after three extra exhibition video games, Brooklyn will take a look at its fullest power towards different groups in video games that depend.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com