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Showing posts with label Ben Simmons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ben Simmons. Show all posts

Major health update on Ben Simmons revealed ahead of Tuesday's game

 


Ben Simmons, just three games into the 2024-25 NBA season, will miss Tuesday night's contest against the Denver Nuggets due to lower back management. 

Simmons underwent back surgery in the off-season, the second such procedure in two years. 



Everyone from Simmons' agent, to unrealistic Nets fans, were expecting the former three-time All-Star to return to form. 



Well , the seventh year vet couldn't even make it to the third game of the season before landing on the injury management list. 

The NBA has been cracking down on load management, so unless there is a medical reason for Simmons to miss Tuesday night's game, the league may look investigate this further to determine whether this measure conflicts with load management rules. 


This season, Simmons is averaging more fouls than shot attempts, so it's no big loss for the Nets. 


Video: Ben Simmons has ugly verbal exchange with fan in Orlando

 


Sports fans can do and say outrageous things. Most professional athletes handle this type of jeering or obnoxious behavior by either ignoring them or raising their game to silence critics and haters.

In the case of Ben Simmons, he decided to reply to an obnoxious, but non-personal fan insult by escalating the situation 




Simmons' this is crazy 😭 pic.twitter.com/TqukmlB70G

— Nick (@LL2123w) October 26, 2024


 Simmons' comeback can be heard clearly after a fan was tweaking his performance on the court. 

No one can condone actions on either side, but it's the job of security to root out any unruly or confrontational fans, while players engaging in trash talking with them is a slippery slope. 

Nets' new coach has absurd goal for Ben Simmons

 


The big bad wolf wouldn't mess with Ben Simmons. He'd huff and puff but couldn't blow down the house of bricks the Nets' PG built with outside jumpers.

So why, dear lord why, would Brooklyn's new head coach Jordi Fernandez include Simmons with a list of bigs he wants shooting at least three long range attempts per game?



The rims at Barclays Center and road arenas might not be able to take that kind of abuse from Simmons clanking jump shots.

Then again, Simmons may not even draw iron. 

Fernandez's goal to create floor spacing is admirable, but unfortunately it's not possible with the offensively challenged Simmons.

After multiple back surgeries and knee issues have diminished his once explosive frame, Simmons has devolved into a decent defender and black hole of offense. 

Fernandez, like many in Nets World, is optimistic at the advent of a new season.

 You can't fault him for that. 

But it would take some serious Black Magic to make Simmons an effective offensive player from the perimeter. 

Knicks player trolls Haliburton with meme about maligned Net

 


Donte DiVincenzo didn't pull any punches in Game 5 and he is not pulling any punches in his meme game. 

Following the 121-91 win in Game 5 over Indiana at MSG, DiVincenzo took to Instagram to caught a stray via Instagram. 

New York can close out the series on Friday in Indiana. Haliburton had a down game with just 13 points and five rebounds. 

Clearly, the Pacers star has bulletin board material that he'll need to use as inspiration when he returns to Gainbridge Fieldhouse. 

 

One move the Nets have to make this offseason



 The Brooklyn Nets are in NBA purgatory. They're not in a full rebuild, but they're not that far outside the playoff chase, either.

A few roster tweaks and additions, and there's no reason to think the Nets can't be in competition for a play –in spot next season. 

With former Kings highly regarded assistant coach joining in Jordi Fernandez, he's still a neophyte head coach, leaving plenty more questions than answers surrounding this franchise. 

So when evaluating all the coaching staff changes already made including the departure of assistants Kevin Ollie, Will Weaver and Ronnie Burrell along with the additions of Juwan Howard and Steve Hetzel, there will be an entirely new organizational philosophy. 

The Nets may be a player in free agency and dip their toe in the trade market, especially monitoring the statuses of Donovan Mitchell, Trae Young, Dejounte Murray and others. 

But after it all, the 1,000 pound gorilla in the room is the albatross that is Ben Simmons' contract. 

As an expiring 40.34 million asset, the often injured Simmons will likely never regain his All-Star form. But he could provide value to teams looking to clear salary off the books. 

If Sean Marks has his wits about him, he is floating Simmons out to teams as an expiring and looking to possibly net another co-star for Mikal Bridges.

Simmons' time with Brooklyn has been marred by injury and his future in the NBA is in serious jeopardy. 

It's time for the Brooklyn Nets to make Simmons another team's problem and maximize his expiring contract to bring back pieces that can help this team win now. 

Trading for a Knick killer could swing pendulum back in Nets' favor



The New York Knicks are playing like superheroes in the 2024 playoffs. After knocking off the 76ers in the opening round, New York will rest upb and prepare to take on Indiana at Madison Square Garden in Game 1 of the semi-finals.

While one New York basketball team prepares for a deep playoff run, the other will pick up the broken pieces from its lost season.

The Brooklyn Nets are stuck between a rock and a hard place. They don't own a draft pick in 2024 and general manager Sean Marks has reportedly passed on several opportunities to hit the hard reset button by refusing multiple first round draft picks for Mikal Bridges as well as for Dorian Finney-Smith. 

So with Brooklyn in a retooling phase, adding a marque player via trade may be the most logical route back to contention.

A player often connected to wanting out of his current situation is a noted coach killer and Knicks killer.

That player, none other than Trae Young, may be just what the doctor ordered for Brooklyn.

While Dennis Schröder was a pleasant surprise after adding him at the trade deadline in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie, Brooklyn is in dire need of a franchise point guard.

Young fits that bill. Having ousted the Knicks out of the playoffs in 2022, the Atlanta point guard in public enemy number one for New York. 

Young has also developed a reputation as a difficult player to coach, having run Lloyd Pierce and Nate McMillan out of Atlanta.

With Young wearing out his welcome down South, a Nets-Hawks swap might just propel Brooklyn back to relevancy and close the talent gap in the New York City basketball rivalry. 

Why Nets fans should root for the Knicks

 

On May 3rd, starting at 6:00 p.m., the author of: A History of the Nets- from Teaneck to Brooklyn, Rick Laughland, will be signing copies of his book at the Paramus, NJ Barnes and Noble. 

Sometimes you have to root for the lesser of two evils. In this case, Brooklyn Nets fans have to choose between the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks. 

That's a product of the landscape in the East shifting away from Brooklyn as a powerhouse In light of trading away, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden.

So when Nets fans look at the clear-cut favor to come out of the East, the Boston Celtics, that is also the least desirable outcome. 

Brooklyn will be inextricably linked to Boston following the 2013 trade that sent out unprotected picks for Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry. 

One of those pics, Jayson Tatum, is evolving into a superstar and face of the league. The last few seasons, the Celtics have been knocking on the door of a championship. 

The pick the Celtics used to select Tatum, was acquired from Brooklyn. So at the end of the day, mission number one becomes knocking out the Celtics. 

When looking across the East, there's no clear-cut option other than possibly the Sixers or Knicks. 

While rooting for either team is like selling your soul to the devil, having Boston hoist them. Larry O'Brien trophy would be a nightmarish scenario. 

With that being said, Nets fan should root for the Knicks to not only beat the Philadelphia team that broke up Brooklyn's big three, but root for the Knicks to knock off the team that owned their draft picks for many years following the first big three trade, in the Boston Celtics. 

Brooklyn races by Sixers squad without Embiid, Maxey




 The Nets bounced back in a big way from a miserable loss to the Grizzlies on Monday night with an impressive win over a shorthanded Sixers squad.

Without Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, Brooklyn still found itself down by double digits. The Nets did not quit and kept fighting back when they could have easily folded and saw their play-in chances sink further into oblivion. 

Five nets reached double figures including Dorian Finney-Smith and Dennis Schroeder with 20 apiece. 

The Nets, which they seldomly do, out rebounded their opponent- in this case the sixers- 44 to 38. 

Ollie went deep into his bench due to the team playing its second game in two nights. Ten players saw the floor with each of them getting in the scoring column and making their presence felt. 

Brooklyn will have an off night after the back-to-back and we'll take on a reeling Detroit Pistons squad on Thursday night. 


Nets get mauled by undermanned Grizzlies

 


The Brooklyn Nets may have just suffered their worst loss than the season.

 Against a Memphis Grizzlies squad that was missing five of its best players, the Nets found a way to squander a chance for a third consecutive victory. 

Only Nick Claxton topped the 20 point plateau with 21 points, while Luke kennard notched to season high 25 points. Brooklyn missed 13 free throws and was out rebounded 50 to 33.

Kevin Ollie and company have no one blame but themselves But for a borderline embarrassing loss to a G-league Memphis squad. 

Nets beat Hawks again to inch closer to final play-in spot

 


Behind Mikal Bridges' 38 points and a scorching hot 15 or 32 from downtown, the Nets won their second consecutive game. 

Brooklyn is now two games behind Atlanta for the number 10 seed and the final play-in spot. 

Cam Johnson went for 23 while Nick Claxton scored 12 points and ripped down 13 rebounds. 

Without Cam Thomas and Ben Simmons in the lineup due to injuries, Brooklyn put on a show in front of the home crowd.

The Nets season has been in turmoil, but with a softer schedule coming up and two wins under the belts against the Hawks, life has been breathed backed into this often. Listless nets squad. 

Brooklyn hosts Memphis on Monday looking for its third straight win. 

Short-handed Nets romp Hawks by 27



 Brooklyn sent a message to the team its chasing for the final play-in spot on Thursday night by handing Atlanta a 27-point defeat. 

The Nets played arguably the most complete game of the season. Cam Johnson went for a game high 29, while Dennis Schroeder chipped in 23. 

Brooklyn shot a sizzling 22 /46 from three point range while committing just nine turnovers. 

It's been a rollercoaster ride under interim head coach Kevin Ollie. Brooklyn suffered blowout losses to Toronto and Minnesota to open his tenure followed by a blowout win of the Grizzlies. This week the Nets were dismantled in Orlando, only to return home and destroy the Hawks. 

Brooklyn will have a familiar opponent in town on Saturday as they welcome in Atlanta.

Another win over the half and the Nets will be a mere two games back of the play-in race. 

Nets look like a Mickey Mouse organization in Orlando



 The Brooklyn Nets are not only a bad basketball team, they're just flat out gutless. 

Trailing by 29 points after three quarters to Orlando is just inexcusable. 

Kevin Ollie was supposed to tap into the inner hunter within each of his players. Ollie insisted that only those that had a hunting mentality would play. 

Well the effort and flat out performance was just unacceptable. 

On a night without Cam Thomas due to an ankle injury and Ben Simmons due to an inability to play back to backs, Mikal Bridges performance was absolutely atrocious. 

Ollie is not pushing any of the right buttons and the floundering Nets wasted an opportunity to close ground in the play – in race. 

The effort, the enthusiasm and pride are just lacking from this team. While Ollie is only in his third game as interim head coach, the Nets will likely be on a coaching hunt this summer with Mike Budenholzer as one of the top names on the market. 

Nets beat down decimated Grizzlies for Ollie's first win



 The Brooklyn Nets snapped a four game skid with a 111-86 win over Memphis on Monday night. 

The Nets fixed many of their defensive issues and kept the Grizzlies at bay as seven players reached double figures in scoring.

Even on a night the Nets came out on top, Cam Thomas turned his ankle and was not putting weight on his foot. Thomas told reporters after the game that he doesn't think the injury is as serious as the injury he suffered earlier this year, but it's not great news nonetheless 

It's almost certain that Thomas will not be available on Tuesday night in a back to back against Orlando and the team already ruled out Simmons for playing for a second consecutive night.

It's been a feel good night for Brooklyn, but the Nets will need more than one win to catapult them back into the playoffs conversation. 

Brooklyn goes out with a wimper against top flight Wolves


 

The Nets battled, but in the end lost a fourth consecutive game-the latest setback to a dominant Minnesota squad.

Brooklyn shot a measley 33.7 percent from the field and 17.1 from 3-point range in the loss.

The Nets were tied with the TWolves at 78 with just under 10 minutes left. Minnesota finished on a 23-8 run to pull away. 

The Nets were competitive but the result was the same. 

Dennis Schroeder took exception to Mike Conley's 3-pointer with less than 30 seconds left to add insult to injury. 

Nets less than Dino-mite in Raptor land

 


New coach, same problems. The Nets fell behind by double digits in the first quarter and were never able to climb back into contention.

The starting five of Ben Simmons, Cam Thomas, Mikal Bridges, Dorian Finney-Smith and Nic Claxton was less than stellar.

Claxton only had six points, Simmons two points, Finney- Smith three points while Thomas added 19 and Bridges led the way with 21. 

Brooklyn gave up a whopping 46 fast break points, an NBA record since the stat was first tracked back in 1996- 97. 

Kevin Ollie's flawed offensive lineup was less than impressive and will need to be altered quickly. 

Jalen Wilson played just 4 minutes in garbage time and needs to see his workload increase if the Nets hope to even be competitive. 

Brooklyn takes on Minnesota on Saturday night looking for the first win in the Ollie era. 

Dream scenario for Brooklyn Nets revealed

 


The Brooklyn Nets made a major move on Monday following the All-Star break, relieving head coach Jacque Vaughn of his duties. 

The Nets( 21-33) were underachieving in the first half of the year and closed out the first 54 games with a 50-point drubbing at the hands of the Boston Celtics at TD Garden Arena.

That game was the straw that broke the camel's back. Sean Marks and Joe Tsai, in consultation with team leaders, including Mikal Bridges, decided to make a coaching change.

Vaughn unsuccessfully tried to carry over Steve Nash's freelance and free-flowing offense that worked so beautifully with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden. Now, without superstar talent, the offense was inexplicably built around Ben Simmons, who could never stay healthy. 

The Nets should have been a top flight defensive team, but Vaughn decided to employ a drop defense that had catastrophic results. 

Bridges and other players were looking for clearly defined roles as Vaughn constantly tinkered with starting rotations. 

Now, as the Nets look to the remaining 28 games of the year, it appears as if assistant coach, Kevin Ollie, who joined Vaughn stuff this year, will be name the interim coach. 

Brooklyn will likely cast a wide net this summer in an exhaustive coaching search. Expect Mike Budenholzer to be atop that list. 

Giannis Antetokounmpo's former coach could be the biggest recruiting tool for prospective free agents or superstar trade targets. Things haven't been exactly sunny in paradise in Milwaukee, as Doc Rivers taking over for Adrian Griffin has seen some growing pains. 

The dream scenario for Brooklyn Nets fans is for Antetokounmpo to return this time as a hero in the borough and not public enemy number one. Perhaps the Greek freak will see that life without Bud isn't exactly all it's cut out to be. 

Mikal Bridges fails to defend Nets fans on Knicks podcast

 


Mikal Bridges is a good guy. Always smiling and with an upbeat attitude. He's low-key, but knocking on the door of All-Star status. 

But when the Nets best player went on a podcast this week with former Villanova teammates and now New York Knicks, Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson, it became difficult for Nets fans to watch. 

While it appears the ribbing is good natured, Bridges doesn't exactly stand tall against the criticism of Nets fans and the lack thereof at Barclay Center when the Knicks came to Brooklyn earlier this year.

 

Knicks fans have jokingly referred to Barclays Center as MSG South. 

Just another dig at what they consider their little brother- even though the Nets have been the better franchise over the last quarter century. 

It's clear the tide is turning in New York and the Knicks are coming together as a championship hopeful squad. Meanwhile, Brooklyn is sinking into an abyss and failing to find an identity. 

With all this happening in this intercity rivalry, Bridges' inability to at least push back on that narrative has caused a lot of unrest and Nets World. 

Nets late comeback falls short against Celtics

 


In the front end of a home and home, Brooklyn came up on the short end of the stick.

Ben Simmons jump shots were as ugly as the muddy, melted streets throughout the Northeast.

Nic Claxton followed up one of his best performances against the Spurs on Saturday with a terrible outing on Tuesday against Boston.

The Nets had no answers for Jayson Tatum, who dropped 41, while Mikal Bridges had 27 and Cam Thomas 26.

The Nets get another crack at Boston in part of the home and home at TD Garden on Wednesday night. 



Claxton outplays Wembanyama as Nets cruise past Spurs



 Nic Claxton had a chip on his shoulder on Saturday night against the likely Rookie of the Year award winner, Victor Wembanyama. The Nets center went for 20 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks on 10 of 15 from the field.  

Wembanyama went for 21 points, but managed just 4 rebounds, 1 blocked shot, committed four turnovers and shot 7 of 16 from the field. 

Claxton and Schröder showed an impressive level of chemistry in just their first game together as the point guard had 15 points and 12 assists.

Brooklyn shot a sizzling 50 percent from deep and 56.3 percent overall. 

While the outing was a great team win for the Nets, San Antonio is just 10-43 on the season. After taking care of business against San Antonio, the Nets will face the Boston Celtics in a home and home starting Tuesday at Barclays Center. 

The Nets will look to grab at least one victory out of the back-to-back and close out the pre-All-Star break on a high note. 

Nets make two trades on deadline day



 The Brooklyn Nets completed a trade with the Toronto Raptors acquiring point guard Dennis Schröder and forward Thaddeus Young in exchange for guard Spencer Dinwiddie

The Raptors subsequently bought out Dinwiddie and he is expected to be a coveted piece on the buyout market by several contenders, including: the Lakers and Mavericks.

Dinwiddie played in 348 games as a Net, in two separate stints, and is one of the most accomplished players in franchise history. 

In a separate deal, the Nets sent out another expiring contract in Royce O'Neale, reuniting him with Kevin Durant, now in Phoenix. As part of the deal, the Nets acquire three future second round picks and Keita Bates-Diop and Jordan Goodwin. 

And a corresponding move, the Nets cut forward. Harry Giles.  Brooklyn still has a log jam on their roster and will need to release one more player. 

While the trade deadline was not the splashy type that many Nets fans had hope for, the weren't that many marquee players available. Brooklyn now has the flexibility to revisit trades over the summer, especially a player they had on their radar and Dejounte Murray. 

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