After Ben Simmons fouled out in his Nets debut, Kyrie Irving shared a simple message with his new teammate in the locker room post-game.
“He’s a valuable piece for us and we need him out there, and fouling out is not an option,” Irving said at the time.
But on Tuesday, it happened again. This time though it was not as egregious given the circumstances, with Kevin Durant adamant Simmons’ play on Ja Morant was not a foul.
Even still, prominent ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith — one of Simmons’ biggest critics — actually described the Australian’s latest early exit as “encouraging”.
Why? Well, according to Smith it showed that Simmons cared and is emotionally invested in this Nets team on the court.
“I see a moment like last night and I’m encouraged, not discouraged,” Smith said on ‘First Take’.
“First of all, he’s arguing with the referee. He wants to be in the game. He obviously prides himself on being able to defend. The bottom line is he was fighting to stay in the game.
“When I look at it from that perspective of him arguing and then coming to the post-game and talking to the media and having a conversation about that, he’s not plagued by what he was last year and that’s all I ask.”
Simmons finished the game against Memphis with seven points, eight assists, three rebounds, a steal and five turnovers in 28 minutes.
Brooklyn coach Steve Nash said “rust” was limiting Simmons from realising his true potential on both ends of the floor and that there will be more “painful moments” for him.
Smith too conceded the Australian still “needs to play better”.
But the talent has always been there with Simmons. It has more been a question of whether he will buy in to his role at Brooklyn and Smith saw enough on Tuesday to suggest he has.
“At the end of the day, to see you ticked off that you got called for fouls and fouled out of games shows me you want to be in the game,” Smith added.
“The man wants to play, that’s where it starts. If he plays with that kind of passion he’ll only get better and better.”
Tuesday’s loss to Memphis also proved that Simmons does not need to put up many points for the Nets to be competitive, with Irving and Durant combining for 74 on their own.
Defence though continues to be an issue for Brooklyn, who leaked 134 against the Grizzlies in the 10-point defeat and that is an area where Simmons does need to make his presence felt.
“This was their biggest Achilles’ heel last year,” Brian Windhorst said on his podcast ‘Brian Windhorst & The Hoops Collective’.
“It was the reason why their championship odds were preposterous all year long. It was their Achilles’ heel when they did get to the post-season. Tell me that their defence is going to improve.”
It may take time though for Simmons to get back to his disruptive best on the defensive end and until then, the Nets may continue to leak points like they did against the Grizzlies.
ESPN’s Nick Friedell though has serious questions on whether the defence will ever get to a level where this Nets team will be good enough to challenge for the title.
“I think they’ve got to build chemistry and that only comes with playing together,” Friedell said on Windhorst’s podcast.
“That is a huge part of learning what Simmons wants to do on the floor [and] getting everybody to buy in. I don’t see the Nets being able to develop at a defensive level to the point where you think that they can legitimately contend for a title.
“I’m waiting to see what Simmons looks like in a couple of months. He looks right now like the player we saw at the end of his time in Philadelphia. He just does not look comfortable offensively at all. He wants no part of any kind of jump shot.”
While so much of the focus in Simmons’ career has been on his reluctance to unleash from deep, Friedell was not even talking about the Australian taking 3-pointers.
“We’re talking about anything that is not a couple of feet from the rim and he has no desire to go to the free-throw line,” he added.
“You’re taking a player who is incredibly talented but so limited in what he is able to provide right now. I do think his confidence will improve the more he plays.
“Let’s give it a little bit more time but the reason Simmons hasn’t shown more and the Nets haven’t been able to do more with him on the floor is because his confidence now right is not where they need it to be.”
Simmons fouls out in first Nets game | 01:00
But again, with guys like Durant and Irving leading the way and sharpshooters like Patty Mills, Joe Harris and Seth Curry on the roster, Simmons does not need to be a huge scoring threat.
In fact, Windhorst went as far as to say that he “doesn’t care” if Simmons fails to record a single shot outside of the paint all season.
“I don’t care if he averages under 10 points a game,” Windhorst said.
“They shouldn’t need offensive help. He’s got to be a defensive playmaker. He’s got to be the guy when another perimeter scorer is going off, they put him on him and make it hard. That’s got to be his role.
“That’s where he’s going to earn his money. All I’ve seen from Ben Simmons defensively the first few games is fouling.”
And that continued on Tuesday, although Friedell said that getting more comfortable on the offensive end should help open up Simmons’ game as a whole, including his defence.
“The key with Ben Simmons is he continues to be in foul trouble,” Friedell added.
“He fouled out in a preseason game in Minnesota in 12 or 13 minutes. The timing is not there. There is a lot of rust but again I think the offence will help set up his defence.
“What he needs to do is be able to run what they need offensively and get other people open and create easier looks for everyone else. He’s shown that in very small glimpses but I think that will help him get more comfortable on the other end.”
