“I’m giving you the pieces on the chessboard” – NBA analyst describes the role Nets have for Ben Simmons
After nearly a year and a half away from basketball, Ben Simmons made his return to NBA action. He made his Brooklyn Nets debut on Monday in the team's first preseason matchup against his old team, Philadelphia 76ers. This was the first time the former No. 1 pick had appeared in a game since the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals.
After being away for so long, the three-time All-Star managed to shake the rust off rather quickly. In 19 minutes of action, he tallied six points, four rebounds, five assists and one steal.
Now that Simmons has made his long-awaited debut for the Nets, many shared their thoughts on what they saw from him. During a recent episode of ESPN's "Jalen & Jacoby," Jalen Rose touched on the topic. He said Simmons' time with the Nets will be much different from his time with the Sixers:
"I'm giving you the pieces on the chessboard. When you looking at Ben Simmons, he's basically playing small-ball five.
"You know what you don't see him doing? Out at the top of the floor initiating the offense a lot of the time, playing the one. That's what going to be different about his experience playing basketball with the Nets versus the Sixers."
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Brooklyn Nets have the ideal roster to maximize Ben Simmons in different ways
Like most know at this point, while Ben Simmons is a high-level talent, his game has one glaring weakness. That being that he has never shown a willingness to be an outside shooter.
In his first four seasons in the league, the All-Star point guard has only attempted 34 3-pointers. Of those attempts, he made five. Opposing teams are well aware of this tendency and have used it to their advantage against the Sixers in the past.
Luckily for the Brooklyn Nets, they do not have to suffer a similar fate. They can tap into all the skills that make Simmons special without having to worry about his weaknesses.
With players like Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant on the roster, the Nets have multiple options to run the offense on the perimeter. This will allow the 26-year-old to have a different impact on offense.
Brooklyn utilized him a lot out of the post in their preseason game against the Sixers. This allowed him to showcase his high-level passing ability as he connected with open shooters.
The Nets could still run into some issues at times, but they seem prepared to un-tap Ben Simmons in a different way than before.