Another season Brooklyn Nets He is the great unknown of the NBA. If one goes by just the names that make up the team, one might think that he is one of the main contenders for the ring. However, there are as many nuances along the way as there are figures that make up the team. A set that is difficult to classify with all the others and that nevertheless inspires optimism.
In the out of season of 2019 Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving joined forces, but it wasn’t until December 2020 that they were finally able to compete together. Three years after this signing, the balance of this couple is 17-17 in the regular season and 6-7 in the playoffs. 47 games in two series with no picks to end the top scored on arrival. But there is something that is going to change in this 2022-2023: Ben Simmons.
The Australian player’s value has dropped to a minimum due to everything that has happened around him since the 2021 Playoffs, which included a long period leading up to his departure from Philadelphia 76ers. He later suffered a serious and complicated back injury that put him in surgery and spent several weeks unable to even walk, as he recently revealed on the JJ Redick podcast. This long period of not seeing Simmons on a field has made many truly forget what the player can contribute wherever he is.
26 years old Simmons is a perennial contender for Defensive Player of the Year and All-Defensive Quintet. But to focus solely on what he can offer at the back is to miss the full picture of what the Aussie is all about.
In the four seasons of the point guard’s career (from 2017 to 2021) he was the second player with the most three-point assists in the entire NBA (996), surpassed only Russell Westbrook (1057) and ahead of statistical monsters such as Chris Paul (927), LeBron James (861) or James Harden (824). On the other hand, in his last full campaign he scored 18.6 goals per assist. 11th best in the NBA. Both records need to be put into context, as the 76ers were the 10th-most shot-of-two team in the league (17,610) with the Aussie on the roster.
The Brooklyn Nets offense under Steve Nash has been conspicuous by its lack of diversity. With two individual monsters like Durant and Irving, there is a danger that the offense will be overburdened with what they can both create on their own. And that’s exactly what happened to New Yorkers. This wouldn’t be a problem if other aspects of the game weren’t lacking, thus leaving a worrying offensive panorama.
| Movement | Usage % (League Ranking) | points per possession | percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transition | 15.0% (20º) | 1.16 | 75 |
| Cleaned up | 10.8% (1st) | 1.01 | 93 |
| instant lock | 14.0% (26th) | 0.89 | 17 |
| Pick&Roll | 7.4% (4th) | 1.06 | 17 |
| low suspension | 4.0% (15th) | 1.02 | 93 |
| spot-up | 20.9% (29th) | 1.03 | 62 |
MORE | Brooklyn Nets 2022-2023 season: team, players, roster, schedule, preview and more
The total of Steve Nash last season he was the one who played the most cleanly and the third most effective. Case similar to low suspension, which is currently another form isolated.
Outside of those two situations, it’s not that Brooklyn has been unproductive, it’s that he’s been lacking in two of the three most important actions in the current game: direct block and static shot. Only the transition (75th percentile) is saved from burning because the production in both and suspended was really worrying.
Simmons has to lead the team open field, but more importantly, the Nets will finally have a pure point guard, someone who thinks pass first and score second. The Australian has never had an escort that maximizes both virtues so without having to farm an interior that slows down the pace of the game and is so dependent on the low post. Now your midfield alternatives will be Durant, Irving and two elite shooters like Seth Curry and Joe Harris.
And the best way to check it is by searching the newspaper library:
However, there are many questions about how Ben Simmons can deliver in Brooklyn. You will have to deliver results from day 1 in a very specific context and with a previous situation that is not easy.
In addition, their number in its production direct blocking (23rd percentile) and pick&roll (14th) They don’t ask you to think he can make such a big leap to change the Nets’ fortunes.
You will make it? The first chance to prove it will come in the preseason, right against his old team.
Brooklyn Nets vs. Philadelphia 76ers: day, time, where and how to watch
| Country | Date and time | TV | flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico | Monday, October 3, 6:30 p.m. (CDMX) | – | NBA League Pass |
| USA | Monday, October 3, 7:30 p.m. ET | NBA-TV | YesApp? NBA League Pass |
| Argentina | Monday, October 3, 8:30 p.m. | – | NBA League Pass |
| Spain | Tuesday, October 4, 1:30 | – | NBA League Pass |
The views expressed here do not necessarily represent the NBA or its organizations.
