Ben Simmons minutes are a depreciating asset.
He performed 27 minutes towards the Phoenix Suns on Feb. 7, 20 minutes towards the Bulls on Feb. 9, 16 minutes towards the Philadelphia 76ers on Feb. 11 and simply 13 minutes in Brooklyn’s loss to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Monday.
Simmons has totaled simply 16 factors over the course of these video games, a median of simply 4 factors, 4 assists and 4.5 rebounds throughout this stretch.
He has fallen out of the beginning lineup in favor of extra offensively succesful newcomers and routinely watches closing fourth-quarter minutes from the bench.
Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn maintains that with Simmons, it’s no completely different from every other participant on the roster: He desires Simmons to “give everything, every ounce, every single game.”
The points, in fact, are rooted deeper.
Simmons was as soon as the proper match for a staff with two celebrity scorers. Now on a staff devoid of scoring, he has grow to be a legal responsibility. He is bored with searching for his personal shot and disappears offensively when he passes the ball, aside from the instances when he units a display screen for a teammate.
That has been the extent of the affect coming from Brooklyn’s $35M man — who’s on the hook for $77M extra over the following two seasons.
And on a staff that shuttled out Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the Nets want scoring greater than ever. With Simmons on the ground, nonetheless, the Nets have a non-scorer who additionally subtracts from the staff in different areas.
”It’s gonna be some work that we’ve got to do since you simply check out what the lineups might probably appear to be,” Vaughn stated postgame. “You put one other large subsequent to Ben, then you definitely’ve gotta determine what the spacing is round him. Then when you put one other playmaker subsequent to Ben, then you definitely’ve gotta determine what Ben seems to be like with out the basketball. Then when you go small with Ben, then you definitely’ve gotta determine are you able to rebound sufficient with him?
“So the challenges are ahead of us. We’ll look ‘em head on. We’ll figure it out. We have the personnel to figure it out. Whether it is me mixing and matching throughout different pieces of the game and allow him to have a group and run with a group. That part we’ll figure out, but you see the challenges that lie ahead.”
Before Simmons arrived in Brooklyn as a part of final season’s blockbuster James Harden commerce, he began in all 275 video games he appeared in throughout his four-year stretch with the 76ers.
Now with the Nets, Simmons’ position has modified. He has come off the bench in every of the Nets’ final three video games and eight of the 41 video games he has performed this season. He was the third participant off the bench towards the Knicks on Monday behind sharpshooter Joe Harris and reserve large man Day’Ron Sharpe.
Simmons’ bench position might span the rest of the season for a Nets staff that has eight gamers who’ve been longtime starters for various groups this season.
Simmons stated Monday morning after Nets shootaround he has “no idea” what his position shall be shifting ahead with this new-look staff.
“Everything’s been changing all year, so it’s hard to really understand what’s going on, but hopefully we find some rhythm and consistency,” he stated. “It’s different. It’s a different experience [coming off the bench]. So whatever the team needs from us to win, I’m willing to do that.”
After enjoying simply 13 minutes towards the Knicks on Monday, Simmons was not obtainable to take questions postgame.
”The rebounding piece we’re all the time involved about, so didn’t need Ben to be the lone large on the market,” Vaughn stated. “We tried him with another big. I didn’t like that rhythm of the game because we weren’t scoring enough at that time. So a lot of different problems thrown at you in the course of the game. You try to figure them out.”
Simmons desires to be on the ground. He desires to assist his staff in methods he can’t when he’s on the bench cheering from the sidelines. The fact of the matter is the Nets now have a number of defenders and wish to search out offense, an space Simmons doesn’t affect exterior of playmaking for shooters and setting screens.
Simmons doesn’t know if he’ll be within the staff’s fourth-quarter or closing rotations. It’s unclear if he’ll be a fixture within the rotation or the NBA’s highest-paid position participant.
”I feel it’s just a little irritating looking for some rhythm and consistency, however that’s what it’s at this level proper now,” he stated. “Guys have been in and out due to injuries, trades, so there’s been a lot of different things that play factors into it. Hopefully now we get a little bit of a stretch where we can find some rhythm and consistency.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com