It is finally happening.
After a dramatic offseason, the Brooklyn Nets are back on the court and the NBA world will get its first look at the trio of Ben Simmons, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
Simmons made his Nets debut on Tuesday in Brooklyn’s preseason game against his former team, the Philadelphia 76ers.
Fortunately for Simmons the game was played at Barclays Center in New York, meaning he did not have to worry too much about the hostile reception he would receive from the Philadelphia faithful.
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‘Don’t need him to shoot it’ Nash on Ben | 01:10
He also did not have to worry about defending former teammate Joel Embiid or fellow Sixers superstar James Harden, with both sitting out Tuesday’s game.
The Nets started with Simmons, Durant, Irving, Joe Harris and Nic Claxton while the Sixers opened with Tyrese Maxey, De’Anthony Melton, Matisse Thybulle, Tobias Harris and Paul Reed.
Simmons scored his first points of the game with a strong dunk in transition off a Irving pass and later hit Royce O’Neale with a crosscourt pass for a 3-pointer.
Maxey though was the star early, scoring Philadelphia’s first 10 points while Australian Thybulle also drained a 3-point shot to add to the Sixers’ tally.
Simmons played seven minutes in the first quarter, finishing with four points and two assists, although he also had two turnovers, before checking back in with just over two minutes left.
The Australian got plenty of time to find his rhythm in the Brooklyn offence, with the Nets getting Simmons’ hands on the ball early as opposed to always feeding Irving or Durant.
Simmons played as the point guard for the second unit when he was brought in for the latter stages of the first quarter.
Although the offence was not always flowing, as would be expected in a preseason game with a new line-up, Simmons did aggressively drive towards the rim to draw a foul.
“This is exactly what you want to see from Ben Simmons, being on the attack and getting to the free-throw line,” Sarah Kustok said in commentary for the YES Network.
“Another point of scrutiny is the free-throw line, continuing to go there and not being afraid to be in this position. Nash has talked about it both with Ben Simmons and Claxton, wanting to see them at the line and putting pressure on the rim.”
There were a sprinkling of Sixers fans in attendance, booing Simmons as the Australian missed both free-throw attempts.
The Sixers took a 42-26 lead into the second quarter, with Maxey (14 points, three assists, one steal) leading the charge while Isaiah Joe had a pair of 3-pointers off the bench.
Brooklyn struggled to shut down Philadelphia from deep, with the Sixers shooting 8-for-15 from 3-point land compared to 1-for-9 for the Nets.
Simmons laughs off leaving group chat | 00:37
When asked about the match-up with Simmons, Sixers coach Doc Rivers said the team is “focused on the guys that want to be a Philadelphia 76er”.
“We’re not going to focus on anyone that doesn’t want to be one,” he added.
It comes after Simmons opened up on ‘The Old Man and the Three’ podcast about his exit from Philadelphia and claimed to have not been adequately supported by the Sixers organisation.
“I was in such a bad place where I was like, f***, I’m trying to get here and you guys are, like, throwing all these other things at me to where you’re not helping,” Simmons told Redick. “And that’s all I wanted was help.
“I didn’t feel like I got it from coaches, teammates — I won’t say all teammates, because there’s great guys on that team that did reach out and are still my friends — but I didn’t feel like I got that, and it was just a tough place for me.”
Meanwhile, at Brooklyn’s recent media day, Simmons said he was excited to get back on the floor with his new teammates and will get his first chance to do so on Tuesday.
“I’ve been working on myself this past year to get back on the floor and play at a high level,” Simmons said.
“I deserve to take this opportunity by the horns and get back on the floor. I’m excited to team up with these guys and coaches and I’m looking forward to it.”
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