Rolando del Bosque | ESPN DigitalOct 26, 2023, 7:40 p.m. ETLreading: 3 min.
The Australian point guard is entering his sixth season and since his debut with the 76ers, who chose him with the 1st pick in the 2016 draft, his career has entered a downward spiral from which he can still escape.
A new season in the NBA has begun and just as there are great expectations about some teams, there are also players who have unfinished business, a personal revenge or perhaps they are facing the last opportunity to be part of the elite of the Association, this is the case of Ben Simmons…
The Australian point guard is entering his sixth season and since his debut with the Philadelphia 76erswho chose him with the 1st pick in the 2016 draft, his career has entered a downward spiral punctuated by injuries, mental and extra-sports problems that have prevented him from developing the potential that he undoubtedly has.
After spending his first four seasons with the Sixers, Ben Simmons ended up in the Brooklyn Nets in 2022-23, when the team had James Harden, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant among its ranks, among other great figures who made the Nets a fearsome team on paper, and that’s how it stayed, only on paper.
Ben Simmons is introduced before the game between the Nets and the Cavaliers. Photo: Getty
The story of the ‘Big Three’ Harden-KD-Irving is known to everyone and to that failure we must add the poor contribution of Ben Simmons and the limited availability he had since his arrival.
During the 42 games in which he saw action before re-injuring his back, Simmons He had the worst records of his career: 6.9 points, 6.1 assists and 6.3 boards per night in 26.3 minutes on average on the court, figures that are far from those he signed in his rookie year with Philadelphia, when he had averages of 15.8 units , 8.2 assists and 8.1 rebounds in 33.7 minutes of play (he played 81 games that season).
From there, Ben Simmons began to fade and his All-Star status was lost. His numbers neither in the Sixers nor in the Nets were the same in subsequent years.
To have a better idea of his lack of play, in his first year with the 76ers he scored 1,279 points in 81 games, while during the 2022-23 campaign, his first with Brooklyn, he scored only 241 in 42 games.
However, the NBA gives revenge and for the 2023-24 fiscal year, which only began on Tuesday, October 24, Simmons He will have a new opportunity to demonstrate his ability and be that leader that the Nets need after the exodus of stars.
Now his role should be more of a leader on the floor, since he is one of the big names that the team has that can support him with important elements such as Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, and Spencer Dinwiddie among others with whom he can associate such as Lonnie Walker IV , Nic Claxton or the veteran Dorian Finney-Smith.
For now, their first game was more effective than spectacular, the Nets fell 114-113 against the Cleveland Cavaliers, a game in which ‘Ben 10’ scored four points, but contributed nine assists and 10 rebounds, nine of them defensive. which shows his good defensive performance.
Their next challenge is on Friday, hosting the Dallas Mavericks at the Barclay’s Center in the Nets’ first game in front of their home crowd; without a doubt, an unbeatable opportunity for Ben Simmons He begins his reconciliation with the Brooklyn fans and with himself before being classified as one of the great disappointments of the NBA.
Yes, maybe it will be your last call…
2023-10-26 23:40:00
#call #Ben #Simmons #NBA
