"I'm disappointed in what I saw from the Brooklyn Nets...Ben Simmons was awful last night” – NBA analyst criticizes Nets strategy in their season opener game, advises Nets to include a strong center
The Brooklyn Nets have not had the past year-and-a-half that any organization in basketball wants to have. With all of the Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant drama, this team simply just can't find its identity at the moment and it's causing a major problem on the court.
They decided to trade James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers in return for Ben Simmons and although that could be a positive thing that they do in the coming years, at the moment, that doesn’t seem like the right decision from Brooklyn. We all know that Ben Simmons has some of his own problems as well, and we also have to worry that he might not ever want to play basketball again if one thing doesn't go his way as we saw happen in Philadelphia.
Brooklyn opened up their season against the New Orleans Pelicans and wasn't able to get anything going. They ended up getting blown out in this game and many are starting to worry about what the Nets are going to do this season after an offseason where people thought they might be a great team this year. The Nets lost this game by 22 points and Ben Simmons fouled out in just 23 playing minutes while only scoring four points.
NBA analyst for ESPN, Stephen A. Smith, had the following to say about this disappointing Brooklyn Nets loss on Wednesday night.
"I'm disappointed in what I saw from the Brooklyn Nets because they got their butts whipped. ... Ben Simmons was awful last night, too. No factor whatsoever."
.@stephenasmith weighs in on the Nets 👀
"I'm disappointed in what I saw from the Brooklyn Nets because they got their butts whipped. ... Ben Simmons was awful last night, too. No factor whatsoever." https://t.co/5y6zd2xkMp
Stephen A. Smith Calls Out Brooklyn Nets
It would be tough to argue with Stephen A. Smith here. Although he does say some things that don't necessarily make sense from a basketball standpoint, him saying this about Ben Simmons is certainly warranted after having more than a season off. People were expecting him to come back and be a completely different player and quite frankly, that just doesn't look like it's ever going to be the case. The season is still young for the Brooklyn Nets, but if they want to figure this thing out, they're going to have to do it fast because the Eastern Conference is loaded this season and every loss is going to be vital if they want to make the playoffs.
How Will the Brooklyn Nets Look This Season?
From a basketball standpoint, the Brooklyn Nets have one of the most talented teams in the NBA and that's because they have Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Whenever you put those two guys on the same court, they're typically going to figure things out. Unfortunately, for the Brooklyn Nets and basketball fans, there's so much outside noise in the Nets organization that causes them to not play as well as they should.
Brooklyn still has an opportunity to make a deep run in the playoffs this year, and one game is never going to change that. With Kevin Durant on the team, they can undoubtedly do some incredible things throughout the year. It's more so going to be focused on whether guys can step up and if they can, Brooklyn should find itself in a good spot.