After an abysmal start to the season, things are finally looking up for the Brooklyn Nets. Kyrie Irving is back to playing basketball, Kevin Durant is healthy and over his trade request, and new head coach Jacque Vaughn seems to be preaching a message that is being heard by his players.
At the center of it all, of course, is Ben Simmons. Coming into this season, nobody was sure what to expect from him. After a rough showing for the first 10 or so games, fans were ready to call him washed before he suddenly started playing like a star again.
Over the last five games, Ben has averaged 14.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game — much better than what we saw in the first few weeks. According to Nets veteran Markieff Morris, we’re seeing this because Simmons is finally healthy.
“Healthy. He finally got his legs under him. He was off for two years. Y’all wouldn’t give him a chance, y’all want to criticize him after every fu***** game …” Morris told the media. “But when a guy don’t play two years — because obviously y’all wouldn’t know because none of y’all played in the NBA, he had to get his body right. Contact every night, he’s playing 30-plus minutes, it takes time.”
After the win over the Raptors on Wednesday,
“So far, this is the best I felt in terms of just moving,” said Simmons after the game. “Obviously, it’s a back-to-back and I think my minutes were supposed to be lower, but I was trying to push myself and I wanted to be out there and help the team win.”
The Nets have looked a lot better over these past few games, and Simmons’ play has been a big reason why.
Has This Run Raised Ben’s Trade Value For Nets?
All things considered, Ben is looking pretty good and he is giving Nets fans a reason to be optimistic about the future. Around the league, however, there are still some major doubts about his state of mind and his ability to produce consistently throughout a season.
“Hopefully, I mean, just as basketball fans you hope that this guy can become the player that he’s got the potential to be, because he was fantastic at LSU. Now, there’s the physical issues we’ve talked about. There are the mental issues, and then you’re talking to people around the league, there are questions about his motor,” said NBA Insider Chris Broussard. “Does he love the game? I’ve had a few people I spoke to last week about Ben tell me – these are executives in the league – that you got to stay away from him. He will get you fired, you know. Like trading for him will get you fired.”
It remains to be seen is Ben Simmons can sustain this high level of play for a long stretch of time, but his teammates seem pretty confident that he’s up for the task.
The good news is, we should find out soon what Simmons is made of. If he is really back to his All-Star form, he will continue to get better and rise to the occasion. If not, he’ll be all out of excuses.
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