Getty Ben Simmons is off to a slow start.
Ben Simmons and the Brooklyn Nets took on the Dallas Mavericks on October 27, a game that ended in an overtime loss for Brooklyn.
Through these five games, Simmons’ struggles are well documented, and he’s been scoring well under his career average. During the Mavericks game, he gave doubters more fuel to the fire after he airballed a layup late in the first quarter.
The play looked like he might have been debating between a floater and a layup, but the result was a turnover out of bounds, so it didn’t benefit anybody.
Tough going so far tonight for Ben Simmons with this airball layup 😬
In the end, Simmons finished with seven points, eight rebounds, four assists, and three steals. One of those steals came late in the game and led to a breakaway dunk to Kevin Durant.
While he is still a positive impact on the floor, finishing with a +1 in the plus/minus category against the Mavs, fans let him hear it for missing the layup in the first quarter.
Fans Slam Simmons
At this point, Simmons is well aware there are fans who don’t like him. After missing that shot, people tweeted out their immediate reactions, and as expected, they weren’t very pleasant.
“Just saw Ben Simmons airball a layup attempt, so that’s how that’s going,” said one person.
“Ben just airball a layup omfg,” wrote another.
“Ben Simmons found a way to airball from 1 foot away,” said a third.
It was a blunder no doubt, but it wasn’t the difference between winning and losing at all. However, the Nets will need him to add a bit more to his game if they want to end this horrid start to the year.
The Nets are currently sitting with a single win in five games, and while Kyrie Irving and Durant have been putting up big scoring numbers, there isn’t much else going on around them.
Building chemistry takes time, but a slow start like this certainly wasn’t what the team expected.
Irving Defends Simmons
Kyrie Irving on Ben Simmons:
“You guys keep coming in here asking me like what about Ben? He hasn’t played in two years. Give him give him a f–king chance. We stay on his s—. You just stay on him. We’re just here to give him positive affirmations and just let him hoop.”
Simmons’ Nets teammates still have his back through the slow start, and it seems they believe he’ll eventually get things turned around.
After the loss to the Bucks on October 26, Irving lashed out at the media.
“You guys keep coming in here asking me, like, ‘What about Ben? What about Ben?’ He hasn’t played in two years,” he said. “Give him give him a f****** chance. We stay on his s***. … You just [have to] stay on him. We’re just here to give him positive affirmations and just let him hoop.”
Simmons underwent back surgery following last season after not appearing in a game at all, so there is a lot of rust that has to be shaken off. He still looks like a dominant defender and playmaker, but becoming more assertive with his shot looks like something he’ll get back slowly.
As of right now, his teammates are fine with him easing back into the swing of things, but that can change if the struggles continue.
A team with Irving, Durant and Simmons sounds like one that can compete for a championship, but that’s not how things have looked so far.