Nets head coach Steve Nash mentioned All-Star ahead Ben Simmons “looked great” on the primary day of coaching camp on the HSS Training Facility in Industry City on Tuesday.
Simmons, who missed all the 2021-22 NBA season on account of a mixture of psychological well being points and a herniated disc that in the end required offseason surgical procedure, accomplished his first official Nets observe as a full participant on Tuesday. Last season, he was a restricted participant in crew observe and by no means superior to taking part in five-on-five earlier than the season ended.
“Ben looked great. He’s looking really well,” Nash mentioned. “He put in the time this summer and he’s continually getting better every week. It looks to me like he’s pretty close to the player we envisioned. He’s going to make a big impact for us.”
Veteran ahead Markieff Morris additionally mentioned that Simmons seems “great. Good, in-shape. He looked good the past couple weeks before training camp.”
Morris added Simmons seems like he was earlier than the again surgical procedure, noting he’s “strong as hell, too.”
Nash mentioned the largest hurdle for Simmons after his yearlong absence is “familiarity with his teammates.” Nash referred to as Simmons “incredible” bodily and famous his cardio degree is so excessive that it doesn’t take him lengthy to get in sport form.
“When he turned a corner from skill work to getting up and down, it was impressive how quickly he could manage the cardiovascular demands of playing full-court basketball,” Nash mentioned. “For him, I think it’s just time — time with his teammates, time playing the game. It’s been a long [layoff] for him. I think just that time to get his sharpness back and an understanding with his teammates.”
Nash maintained Simmons is a position-less participant and wouldn’t pencil him into any place on the ground.
“He can play point guard, he can play center,” he mentioned. “Very versatile player.”
ROSTER IMPROVED
It’s solely Day 1 of coaching camp, however with the weapons at his disposal, Nash is “excited by [the Nets’] potential offensively.”
And for good cause.
The Nets have seven rotation gamers not named Kevin Durant or Kyrie Irving who might be categorized as shooters and three new gamers not less than 6-8 in T.J. Warren, Morris and Simmons, who will make his Nets debut this season.
“We’ve got lots of playmakers and shooters, so this year I think we’ve got way more depth to shoot and space the floor,” Nash mentioned. “Last year obviously when Joe [Harris] was out for the year and Kyrie wasn’t playing, especially when Kevin got hurt, we started to run out of shooters and other teams were just sitting two, three guys in the lane. So hopefully that’s not a situation we’re gonna face this year. Optionality should be a lot better.”
Durant was complimentary of the additions GM Sean Marks made to the roster through the summer time, together with the addition of Royce O’Neale, whose repute as a three-and-D wing preceded his arrival. Nash additionally agreed the roster stuffed gaps from final season.
“Yeah, I think the roster’s improved,” he mentioned. “I think we have some great characters, which is going to be very helpful for our group. We have more shooting versatility, the size of the wing. So a lot, a lot of positives. You know, we think we’ve done a great job with the roster.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com