The Brooklyn Nets' issues go neatly beyond who's now not on the court docket, and Ben Simmons' return to Philadelphia confirmed that to an embarrassing extent.
The Nets entered the online game with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons all taking part in, a rarity In fresh weeks. The Philadelphia 76ers entered the video game without Joel Embiid (out two video games with a foot injury), James Harden (foot sprain) and Tyrese Maxey (foot fracture).
The Sixers won one hundred fifteen-106.
to position issues in viewpoint, here became the Sixers' starting lineup: De'Anthony Melton, Shake Milton, Tobias Harris, P.J. Tucker, Montrezl Harrell. Two of those players, Milton and Harrell, were making their 2nd begins of the season.
in the meantime, Paul Reed and Georges Niang got here off the bench to combine for 35 facets, greater than the complete Nets bench.
or not it's complicated to sugarcoat that for the Nets, who fell to eight-10 on the season. bound, it could possibly take ages for a crew to get going when its greatest stars have not been able to play many minutes collectively (however that problem changed into just about utterly because of one of those stars' selections, once again), but it is not as huge of a challenge as none of those stars enjoying, which the Sixers naturally handled neatly sufficient.
The Nets aren't going to be taken seriously as the contender they're imagined to be until they may be reliably beating teams like an Embiid-and-Harden-much less Sixers. it truly is now not an unreasonable expectation.
Making the nighttime even more embarrassing turned into the highlight of Simmons' making his 2d birth in Philadelphia due to the fact that his notorious ejection from the team.
The nighttime started well adequate for one in every of Philadelphia's most hated athletes. there have been boos, of direction, there were at all times going to be boos. however Simmons posted 9 aspects (3-of-6 capturing) , five assists and three rebounds in the first half.
He even threw in a Michael Jordan shrug after ... making two free throws in a row.
Story continues
That become the respectable for Simmons, who additionally contributed his continually powerful defense.
The unhealthy came within the fourth quarter, as the online game acquired faraway from the Nets. Simmons posted zero points on zero pictures with zero rebounds and zero assists (but two blocks) in 5 minutes in the ultimate body.
That shrug also could have haunted him in the third quarter, when Simmons missed each free throws and gave the people vociferously booing him a free lunch on Wednesday.
it's been a humbling season thus far for very nearly each person involved with the Nets. it should nevertheless be viable to turn that ship around — it's going to all the time be possible when you've got Kevin Durant to your team — nevertheless it's very clear by way of now that there is greater to pro fitable in the NBA than being healthy and decent on paper.
Ben Simmons disappeared within the fourth quarter against the Sixers. (AP photograph/Matt Slocum)
Post a Comment