Getty Kevin Durant and Ben Simmons during the Nets preseason game against the Miami Heat.
The Brooklyn Nets season opener on October 19 also meant the highly anticipated debut of three-time All-Star Ben Simmons. A back injury that ultimately required him to have surgery in May prevented Simmons from making his Brooklyn debut last season.
Simmons took the court for the regular season for the first time in over a year, and his performance fell flat, putting up a stat line of 4 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists in the contest. He also fouled out in only 23 minutes of play as the Nets got blown out at home against the New Orleans Pelicans.
For some, Simmons’ lackluster performance is eyebrow-raising. But Nets star Kevin Durant doesn’t believe one bad performance by the star forward is any reason for Brooklyn to hit the panic button.
“He’s a veteran. We have a long season ahead. We have 81 more of these,” Durant said of Simmons’ performance via SNY. “There’s gonna be plenty of other games. We all don’t have great games. That’s the nature of our job. It’s about just bouncing back and coming to work tomorrow and figuring it out.”
Kevin Durant was asked about Ben Simmons’ debut with the Nets:
“We all don’t have great games, it’s just the nature of our job. It’s about just bouncing back and coming to work tomorrow and figuring it out.”
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Kyrie Gets Honest About Nets’ Road Ahead
Defense continues to be the Achilles heel of this Nets squad. That was on full display on Wednesday as they allowed the Pelicans to put up a whopping 130 points in the opener. Brooklyn also hit the triple-digit mark, notching 108 points. But scoring in bunches won’t mean much if you can’t get consistent stops, which they failed to do against New Orleans.
The road won’t get any easier for the Nets throughout the season. As a team with three All-Stars, two of whom have won championship gold, Brooklyn’s opponents will approach every night looking to hit them with their best shot. Nets star Kyrie Irving says it is a challenge that the Nets must be prepared for every time they step on the court.
“I talked about the other day, just us being tested and us being challenged,” Kyrie said to reporters after the loss via NetsDaily.
“And this is going to be a familiar theme throughout the year, and that’s to consistently play with a competitive spirit without us talking about it all the time. And I don’t want to sit in this seat after every game saying, ‘We should have done this, we should have done that.’ Like, this is a grown man league, and the most physical team wins.”
Steve Nash Sounds off on Nets Rebounding Struggles
Another key to the Pelicans’ victory was winning the rebounding battle in the contest. Per NetsDaily, New Orleans outrebounded Brooklyn 61-39 on the glass. It has been a recurring issue since last season, and it didn’t help that the Nets lost Andre Drummond, a historically great rebounder, to the Chicago Bulls in free agency.
Nets head coach Steve Nash knows that the team has a size deficiency with the roster as it is currently constructed. But he still expects his team to fight on the boards and find a way to overcome the disadvantage.
“We’re not the biggest team, we’re not gonna lead the league in rebounds, but there’s still a level of understanding that that’s a weakness for us,” Nash told reporters after the game via NetsDaily.
“We’ve talked about it every day. We have to come back, double-team on the glass, and flood it. That’s a part of just being competitive, being aware, and understanding what our weaknesses are and trying to combat them from the start.”
There is still a lot of basketball left to be played, but the Nets have some issues they need to address sooner than later.
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Kevin Durant Sounds off on ‘Long Season Ahead’ After Ben Simmons’ 4-Point Outing