By Yaron Weitzman
FOX Sports NBA Writer
NEW YORK — Ben Simmons returned to the court Monday night — 471 days eliminated from his last bit of NBA action in the 2021 playoffs — and, well, he looked nearly precisely like Ben Simmons looked throughout his last year in a Sixers uniform. The great, the bad, the outstanding, the confusing.
There he was, dashing down the flooring, developing a one-man quick break and dropping off no-look pennies to spotting cutters — and there he was, camped out under the basket, typically for whole ownerships.
There he was, running the court and tossing down a right-handed dunk — and there he was, clanking his only 2 free-throw efforts off the rim.
If you’re one of those individuals who believe it’s essential to emphasize all the things he does on the court, then you mostlikely strolled away from the Nets’ initially preseason videogame of the 2022-2023 season sensation like Simmons is the gamer who might link all the dots in Nets-land and raise them into the NBA Finals.
If you’re somebody who discovers his failure to shoot and rejection to attack the basket not just infuriating however likewise an act of sabotage that cripples his group, well, you mostlikely saw some of that Monday night, as well.
Simmons has long been an NBA variation of a Rorschach test. People view what they desire, and his launching was no various.
“It’s all coming back gradually,” Simmons informed pressreporters after the Nets’ 127-108 preseason loss to Philadelphia. “It’s a procedure, .”
The veryfirst bit of great news: Physically, Simmons, who completed the videogame with 6 points, 5 helps and 4 rebounds in 19 minutes of action, looked fine. There were no stickingaround constraints from the back injury that needed surgicaltreatment and contributed to his lack last season. Simmons looked fluid and quickly. After the videogame he discussed that “getting down in a position” was a bit more hard post back surgicaltreatment, however included that he had no issues.
And with him, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving all sharing the flooring, we saw flashes of simply how frustrating the Nets’ offense might endupbeing with him. The Nets didn’t requirement any more scorers, however a gamer who might aid them kick their affinity for iso-ball — they endedup last season No. 1 in seclusion frequency, according to NBA sophisticated statistics, a routine that contributed to their fall to 10th in offensive effectiveness — would definitely assistance.
That’s one factor the group — from basic supervisor Sean Marks to head coach Steve Nash to Irving and Durant — is so thrilled to have Simmons back on the court. Simmons has constantly had a method of cultivating an offensive circulation, and it was clear Monday night that his time away has not decreased this ability.
One belongings he discovered an open shooter with a determine cross-court pass.
On another, he was able to makeuseof all the area being provided to him to set up Joe Harris for a spot-up top-of-the-key 3.
He still invested too much time remaining down by the basket, letting the Sixers get away with gifting him all sorts of area. He still prevented contact in the paint. But the Nets think they have enough firepower to standupto those defects. In their view, Simmons just doing the things he’s comfy doing is enough to assistance plug their holes.
“We desire to make the videogame a lot mucheasier for us this year rather of using all that energy simply to get a container,” Irving stated after the videogame, including: “There was simply a lot, a lot of random seclusion and having Ben being able to play the 1, the 4 and the 5 includes some measurements to our offense and I believe that’s what makes us unsafe, that capability to be versatile, versatile and generous.”
What any of this looks like 2, 3 and 4 months from now is difficult to forecast. We all understand the offer with this group. No group boasts a greater ceiling, no group is more flammable. Entering the season, the greatest concerns revolved around the group’s 3 stars:
Can Durant stay delighted and healthy for an whole year? Will Irving devote to the group? Does Simmons even desire to play? It appears, one of those concerns hasactually been addressed.
“It felt great to be out there,” Simmons stated after the videogame, priorto stoppingbriefly, smiling and then offering a information.
“S–, it felt excellent.”
Yaron Weitzman is an NBA author for FOX Sports. He is the author of “Tanking to the Top: The Philadelphia 76ers and the Most Audacious Process in the History of Professional Sports.” Follow him on Twitter @YaronWeitzman.
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