"He has a quiet confidence of the belief that we can beat anyone because I'm the best player in the world" - Nick Wright lauds Kevin Durant's demeanor, says Nets shouldn't be relying on Ben Simmons
NBA analyst Nick Wright praised Kevin Durant's confidence ahead of the playoffs. Here's what Wright said about Durant's demeanor heading into the postseason on 'First Things First':
"The only thing that should give anyone confidence in the Nets, is the man we saw right there, Kevin Durant, and his demeanor, which I thought if you watched the whole press conference was perfect. KD is clearly in a very good mind frame, he had a quiet confidence of the belief that we can beat anyone because I'm the best player in the world"
The Brooklyn Nets are set to face one of the league's hottest teams, the Boston Celtics, in their first-round series. Durant will have to be at his absolute best to lead the Nets to a series win.
Brooklyn may have to play the first few games of the Celtics' series without Ben Simmons, though, which could make life difficult for them.
Simmons' defensive prowess would elevate Brooklyn's chances against the Celtics and the rest of the Eastern Conference if they make it past the first round.
"The only thing that should give anyone confidence in the Nets is KD & his demeanor. KD has a quiet confidence that they can beat anyone bc he's the best player in the world. ... What's the scenario where dropping Ben Simmons into the series makes any sense?" — @getnickwright https://t.co/8Df5ZtcevK
However, Wright believes Simmons isn't going to change much for the team. Here's what the Fox Sports analyst said regarding this:
"I just want to know the scenario, the hypothetical scenario, where dropping Ben Simmons into the series, makes any type of sense."
Why Ben Simmons may not make much of an impact for Kevin Durant and the Nets in the playoffs
Ben Simmons has been on the sidelines since June 2021. His last game was during the Philadelphia 76ers and Atlanta Hawks in the Conference semis of the 2021 playoffs.
Simmons has barely had any on-court activities that may make life difficult for him to have an impact on the Brooklyn Nets.
"Bottom line for the Nets here - they're operating as if they won't have Simmons"
@IanBegley from the Nets' practice facility to talk about the potential return of Ben Simmons to the Nets in the first round vs. Boston, and what that potential timeline could look like https://t.co/R2ZXjvXOK0
Additionally, he hasn't played with Kevin Durant or Kyrie Irving. Every game in the playoffs is important, and the Nets do not have the time to be patient with Simmons to develop chemistry with his new teammates.
If Simmons does return during Game 4 of the series against the Celtics, it will be a huge gamble. Having said that, even if Simmons is cleared to play, Brooklyn's chances of having a successful playoff campaign will not get a drastic push.