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Much has been made of Ben Simmons’ upcoming debut season with the Brooklyn Nets. After demanding a trade from the Philadelphia 76ers, the team that drafted him, all eyes will be on the three-time All-Star to see how he meshes with his new team.
As a career 14.7% shooter from beyond the arc, Simmons is not considered a threat to teams from the perimeter. But regardless of his being a low-percentage shooter throughout his career, Nets star Kevin Durant says he still expects Simmons to remain aggressive in finding his shot.
“I’m not here to be babysitting anybody. Like, Ben knows that if he got to try to be aggressive, go be aggressive. Who gives a sh— if you make it or miss it, we like you being aggressive, and he tells me the same thing,” Durant told reporters via NetsDaily.
“We’re always talking to each other about look, We need to be more aggressive and look to score the ball. That’s the name of the game, is putting the ball in the hoop. So, when Ben is aggressive to get downhill and look for everybody and put the ball in the rim, it’s gonna be a plus for our team. But I don’t have to tell him this every day. He knows what it is.”
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Steve Nash Issues Challenge to Ben Simmons
It is not breaking news that Simmons’ low shooting percentage has made him reluctant to take shots. One could argue that it is the reason he landed in Brooklyn in the first place.
For those who may be tardy to the party, Simmons’ hesitancy to take a near wide-open layup over a much smaller Trae Young in the 2021 Eastern Conference Semifinals, is often viewed as the catalyst for the trade demand he made the following season.
Nets head coach and Hall of Famer Steve Nash says that Simmons being more aggressive with his shot selection will only make playmaking easier for him.
“I think he’s got to be aggressive. If you’re not aggressive, that’s when playmaking becomes hard; you’re trying to put pressure on the rim, that’s when playmaking becomes easy,” Nash said per NetsDaily.
“So, getting him back to that burst, that athleticism, that ability to kind of just kind of out-physical people, that’s a huge component of his playmaking, He’s not just going to come down and put his back into people and zip balls around the gym.”
Kevin Durant Drops Truth Bomb about His Minutes Load
Between Kyrie Irving sitting out more than half the season because he refused to get the COVID vaccine and the myriad of injuries they got hit with throughout the year, the Nets often had a pencil-thin roster. This meant everyone who was available had to increase their contributions to stay competitive in the playoff race.
But no one contributed more than Durant, who logged 37.2 minutes per game last season, the most he has averaged since the 2013 season. After suffering a ruptured Achilles in 2019, the Nets coaching staff are still very cautious about how they manage his minutes. But for the Nets star, how much time he plays is based on how well the team is playing.
“Every coach that I played for wants to keep my minutes down, but when the game is tight, or we’re not playing well, I look over and say ‘well, I was going to keep his minutes down tonight but he’s just going to throw me in the game,’” Durant added. “We’re playing well, my minutes will be down. If we’re not, I got to play more.”
The Nets will kick off the season on October 19 when they take on the New Orleans Pelicans.
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