The Brooklyn Nets have had one of the most troublesome offseasons in the entire NBA, almost losing both their star players over the course of one summer. Kyrie Irving almost declined the player option on his contract and Kevin Durant demanded a trade away from the team before reconciling with Joe Tsai, Sean Marks, and Steve Nash.
The Nets acquired Ben Simmons for James Harden in February; this is the first NBA game he played for the team. Sadly, it ended with him fouling out and managing just 4 points in his time on the court.
The push for the title hasn’t gotten off to a good start for the Nets, with the New Orleans Pelicans beating them in Brooklyn by a score of 130-108. NBA fans were shocked to see the Nets like this and reacted to the loss on Twitter, attacking Simmons in particular.
Ben Simmons Nets debut:
4 points
6 fouls
-26 pic.twitter.com/ydFq5j6m10
— StatMuse (@statmuse) October 20, 2022
https://twitter.com/JJMaples55_MST/status/1582886214851362816
Nets are getting BULLIED IN THEIR OWN BUILDING by the Pels. Rebounds: 44-25. Kyrie might as well be missing this home game. But, gut feeling: This is more about how good New Orleans is than how flawed Brooklyn is.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) October 20, 2022
That was fast. Valanciunas spaced the floor out, and Zion went right through Ben Simmons for an and-one layup. https://t.co/5ZM6sSrH0w
— Kristian Winfield (@Krisplashed) October 20, 2022
https://twitter.com/HoodiDrew/status/1582887068199718914
Nets replaced this guy with Ben Simmons pic.twitter.com/DEclm85n8n
— 4pf🧛🏻♂️💋 (@zawday) October 19, 2022
https://twitter.com/HoodiDrew/status/1582910335077404672
When Floyd Mayweather said legalized bank robbery, he was talking about Ben Simmons.
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) October 20, 2022
Ben Simmons mistake thread (Game 1 of 82) pic.twitter.com/pSZK4NGpAE
— #SurvivingChalobah (@Schnefzel) October 19, 2022
People on here acted like the Nets would be good cause the “big 3 would all be there” somehow forgetting Simmons is ass, Steve Nash is their coach, and none of them wanna be there
— semaJ (@semaJ7272) October 20, 2022
In a shocking development, the Nets' halfcourt offense looks pretty bad with both Ben Simmons and Nic Claxton in the starting lineup.
— Austin Krell (@NBAKrell) October 19, 2022
Nets fans looking at Ben Simmons fouling out with just four points pic.twitter.com/bEhksFbRDB
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) October 20, 2022
The clock to win a championship in Brooklyn is ticking. Game 1 of an 82-game season rarely indicates how the year will go, but this was as bad a start to the season as the Nets could have gotten. Hopefully, Simmons gets into the rhythm of the game as the season progresses.
Are The Nets Championship Caliber?
On paper, the Nets are still a ruthless team. They have two of the best scorers in the league in KD and Kyrie, complemented by one of the best playmakers and defenders in the league with Ben Simmons. They were missing their 2 best outside shooters in Seth Curry and Joe Harris today and will hope they come back to the lineup soon.
Pure ability can get you far in the NBA, but not far enough if your team doesn’t have the right system or coach. The Nets may be forced to look over Steve Nash’s shoulder all season long, as their era of trying to be a title-winning team might end with both Kyrie leaving the team and KD doing his best to get moved. If Simmons can’t step up and help KD and Kyrie, the Nets might just be doomed.
