Nets’ Ben Simmons somehow shoots an airball on layup

Ben Simmons is still knocking off the rust.

But shooting an airball on a layup?

That’s what happened to Simmons during the first quarter of the Nets’ 129-125 overtime loss to the Mavericks Thursday night at Barclays Center.

With the Nets trailing 22-19 in the first quarter, Simmons worked what was looking like a pretty give-and-go with Kevin Durant. Simmons passed the ball to Durant and then broke to the basket and had a fairly wide-open layup but couldn’t even touch the rim with his attempt.

Simmons, who was 3-for-7 from the field, finished with seven points, eight rebounds and four assists.

During the Nets’ 110-99 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night, cameras caught Kyrie Irving yelling to Simmons to shoot, but after seeing Simmons’ airball layup, Brooklyn fans might just be fine with him passing up some shots.

The Nets have warned that it could take awhile for Simmons, who had not played since June 2021 because of mental health woes and then a bad back, to return to form.

“His skills are going to catch up to our game plan eventually, just body-wise,” Irving said recently. “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.”