MILWAUKEE — The meek may inherit the earth, but they get punished in the NBA. And through three games this season, Ben Simmons’ hesitancy has cost both him and the Nets.
The Nets have warned that Simmons’ return to form after he missed all of last season might be a lengthy process. And it looks like his recovery won’t be linear or steady, but will happen in fits and starts. Now as the Nets prepare to ride that Simmons roller coaster into a game Wednesday against the Bucks, they’ll have to balance publicly preaching patience with privately demanding high standards.
“His skills are going to catch up to our game plan eventually, just body-wise,” Kyrie Irving said. “I’m not going to give him excuses and he wouldn’t want me to give him excuses. The relationship we’ve developed is centered around holding each other to that high standard and knowing we’re capable of doing special things.
“A lot of it is mental, pushing through what you feel like you’re capable of coming off injury. … But until then — you can quote me: I’ve said this — it’s going to look ugly sometimes. … It’s all about the team, and Ben’s a big part of that. And we need him to lock in just as much as us.”
Everybody from Irving to coach Steve Nash to Simmons himself has warned that the former 76er would be rusty. After all, he had not played since June 2021 because of mental health woes and then a bad back. So far this season, he has bounced between average and downright poor.
After his performance in the Nets’ win Friday over the Raptors marked a stride forward, Simmons took two more steps backward on Monday in Memphis. He finished with seven points, eight assists, three rebounds, five turnovers and was a game-worst minus-16. He fouled out with 3:52 left on a cheap call into which Grizzlies star Ja Morant goaded him.
“When you don’t play in an NBA game for 16, 18 months, it does take time to get a feel for it again. Unfortunately that’s going to have some painful moments for him,” Nash said. “But it shows he’s got a long way, a lot of growth to do to get back to where he was. He’s already shown glimpses, so he’s going to get there. It’s just a matter of getting the support and getting there as quick as possible.”
Even Nash, however, readily admitted that Simmons must start attacking the rim before the question had even been finished.
“Yes. Yeah. That’s a little rust, the confidence not only physically, but with the rhythm of the game, to go to the basket,” Nash said. “You can see him trying at times, and that’s great. We want to keep pushing him to try to break through and force the issue, even if he makes mistakes, just so that we can see him be aggressive and start to find a rhythm for doing so. … It’s not easy for him. It’s been a long time, new group and a back surgery. Add it all up and we have to have some patience with him.”
Simmons will enter the game Wednesday against the Bucks with just 17 points, to go with 14 fouls and 11 turnovers, in 84 mostly ineffective minutes this season.
The former All-Star used to be a transition terror on offense and a disruptive defender. The Nets are prodding him to be more assertive, willing to accept any mistakes of aggression as the cost of breaking his funk.
“That’s the name of basketball is to impose your will on your opponent,” Kevin Durant said. “So we’re encouraging that every time we step out on the floor.”
Despite being a two-time NBA All-Defensive player, Simmons has more foul-outs (two) than he does steals (one, against the Grizzlies). He’s a minus-45, largely a result of teams not guarding him and him passively letting them get away with it.
“I’ve got to push. I’ve got to be more aggressive, more assertive,” Simmons said, aware that he’s going to have to play his way through the malaise.
“It’s reps, reps. And I’m going to get those reps in the game. [It] may not be pretty, sometimes it’s going to be ugly. But this is when I’m going to get my reps, so this is what it is.”