Brooklyn Nets has the the worst defense in the NBA Y Ben Simmons is a great reason for this. And yes, that was true before Luka Doncic turned Simmons into a bun by breakdancing.
While his well-documented early season efforts to retool in the NBA have been widely attributed to his lack of shooting and fear of going to the free throw line, more surprising is his play on the other end.
For a player who finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2020-2021, his +/- numbers, other advanced metrics and what you see while watching him play paint the same amazing picture. For example…
- According to NBA.com, opponents score 14.4 more points per 100 possessions when Simmons plays than when he’s benched. This is the biggest difference between the Nets players.
- Simmons’ 121.2 points per 100 minutes of possession would be the worst in NBA history, according to Basketball-Reference.
- FiveThirtyEight’s RAPTOR metric ranks Simmons No. 185 out of 252 players in their database.
How is it possible that a player as dominant as Simmons has regressed so quickly on defense? There are a few different explanations.
Ben Simmons can’t stop fouling
Simmons is fouling at a crazy rate, getting fouled out of two of his seven games in just 23 and 28 minutes of play. This is a new trend for Australia. Prior to this season, he had only been fouled in six of the 309 games he had played. He returned to play Monday in a limited role and still picked up three fouls in 16 minutes.
So why is Simmons suddenly fouling so much? I have a few assumptions about this.
Case 1: The new NBA rules and points of emphasis
The first assumption is that the rules have changed since Simmons last played and he still isn’t used to them. The league sends out new points of emphasis that referees plan to enforce at the start of each year, and one of the biggest areas they’ve insisted on is the freedom of movement rules.
Prior to last season, they were even using Simmons as a video example of the type of physical handling that would be more severely enforced.
Many of the fouls Simmons has been called fall into this category of grabbing, pushing or restricting movement away from the ball. He seems surprised that these kinds of fouls are being committed, probably because they weren’t picked up the last time he was on the court.
These off-ball fouls aren’t just limited to the defensive end. Simmons already has nine offensive fouls in just seven games. A lot of that is due to illegal screens, which were also included in video highlights during the 2021-2022 season. Karl-Anthony Towns led the league with 68 offensive fouls last year – Simmons is on pace for 105 in 82 games.
Case 2: New partners
Another assumption is that Simmons is unfamiliar with his new teammates. They make basic communication errors, which leads to open shots and poor placement, which forces him to foul.
While it’s true that this is a shared responsibility, the Nets built their team in part around the idea that Simmons could comfortably defend all five spots. Brooklyn isn’t exactly loaded with defensive talent, especially on the front line. If Simmons can’t at least partially anchor Brooklyn’s defense, things quickly fall apart.
Hypothesis 3: the new role
A third theory is that Simmons’ new defensive role causes him to draw more fouls. Simmons is very capable of defending four or five spots. But with the Nets, he’s guarding the big boys more than he used to in Philadelphia, where he was a devastating perimeter defender. According to the Bball Index, which now lists him primarily as an inside linebacker, the time he spends defending power forwards and centers has doubled since the 2019-2020 season.
| Time | perimeter | Interiors |
|---|---|---|
| 2022-2023 | 44% | 56% |
| 2020-2021 | 68% | 32% |
| 2019-2020 | 72% | 28% |
| 2018-2019 | 63% | 37% |
| 2017-2018 | 66% | 3.4% |
Whatever the reason for Simmons’ foul shots, he has a big impact on the Nets’ defense. They rank 25th in fouls per game and 27th in free throws allowed to opponents. Opponents are constantly in the bonus, pushing Brooklyn’s defensive zone into the basement.
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Ben Simmons’ knee and back injuries are hampering his movement
When Simmons guarded the perimeter with the Brooklyn Nets, he didn’t look the same as in seasons past. He used to slow down perimeter players like Luka Doncic and Trae Young in last year’s playoff series. Now, he allows slower guards like Tyrese Haliburton to get past him.
Simmons has been slow to get to fumbles, doesn’t jump very well to contest shots and doesn’t rotate like he used to. He still has great hands and instincts, allowing him to get steals and blocks. But even these percentages have dropped significantly for him.
A sore knee kept Simmons out of the Nets’ final games until he returned to play limited minutes on Monday. That, along with a back injury that kept him out last year, clearly hampers his movement.
To be fair to Simmons, the extent to which injuries have limited his defense should probably get more attention, the same way that no one rightly expected Klay Thompson to return to peak defensive form when he returned last season season.
Simmons’ defensive decline isn’t cause for panic just yet. He deserves more patience than most have given him. Nets fans may want an immediate fix, but it will take him some time to get his body together and learn how the officiating trends have changed in his absence.
The views expressed here do not necessarily represent the NBA or its organizations.
