Nets star Ben Simmons has been through a lot over the past year and a half. After dropping the ball against Atlanta in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, Simmons cut all ties with the franchise and forced his way out in a move that left a sour taste in the mouths of many.
Unfortunately, things haven’t gotten much better since leaving the Nets. After not playing a single game last season (even in the playoffs when his team got swept in the first round), Simmons has been a shell of himself over these past few weeks and has barely shown any improvement from game to game.
Things have gotten so bad that people within the Nets organization are starting to grow a little impatient, and now he’s having to defend himself from all the backlash.
Ben Simmons Defends Himself As Critics Call Out His Disappointing Season
With the haters lining up in droves to take a shot at him, Simmons felt the need to call them out and give his side of the story in what has been a nightmarish campaign so far.
In a discussion with The Athletic on Tuesday, Simmons acknowledged the criticism that he knows is coming his way and shared his view on the matter.
“You’re obviously not gonna be happy when anybody’s out,” Simmons told The Athletic. “But for me, I’ve been dealing with the knee since the start of the season. It’s been swollen. I had PRP (injections). I had blood drained a couple times. So it’s not a made up thing, you know? It’s a real thing.
“There’s only so much I can really do (about perception),” Simmons said. “You can’t make people believe, you know? They weren’t there when I was on the floor and couldn’t walk (because of his back). They weren’t there when I was in the ambulance getting taken to the hospital (after a Feb. 22, 2020, game at Milwaukee). People weren’t there, so they don’t know. That was the first episode I had against Milwaukee. That was the original trigger of it…right before COVID, the start of my back issues.”
“But that’s a part of my journey. There’s times when I couldn’t walk. I had a dead foot. Couldn’t sleep. A lot of stuff was going on with me, physically, to where it was tough. But there’s only so much I can say for somebody to believe, you know? I’m on full overload with treatment, everything I need to do to stay out there,” Simmons continued. “I’m just spending more time on the table, honestly, more downtime (where) I’m literally just leg up, icing, doing whatever I need to do – sleeping.
Ben Simmons:
“There’s only so much I can really do (about perception). You can’t make people believe, you know? They weren’t there when I was on the floor and couldn’t walk. They weren’t there when I was in the ambulance getting taken to the hospital.”
(via @TheAthletic) pic.twitter.com/MPDtX6Pi7K
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) November 16, 2022
On the court, Ben has been far from the star we saw in Philadelphia. His offense has been basically nonexistent, and even his defense seems to have taken a major step back.
On top of it all, he has been missing games despite not playing for all of last season. To this point, Simmons clearly has not held up his end of the bargain as one of the NBA’s highest-paid players.
The Nets are hoping, and needing, for that to change very quickly.
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